Claims Journal

Reopening U.S. Economy Will Mean Creating All Kinds of New Jobs

Thermal scanners in Utah and Maryland. Contact tracers in San Francisco. Decontamination technicians in Miami. Meet the people needed to keep the post-Covid economy running. In the wake of a pandemic that’s put millions of Americans out of work, a …

Posted: May 19, 2020

M&A Legend Martin Lipton Warns of Coming Virus Lawsuit Wave

A push by Republicans in Congress to create stronger liability protections for businesses hammered by the Covid-19 virus won’t completely curb lawsuits over injuries and losses caused by the pandemic, famed M&A litigator Martin Lipton said. Speaking...

Posted: May 19, 2020

‘Algorithmic Autos’ Reduce Energy Consumption and Traffic Delays

Imagine merging into busy traffic without ever looking over your shoulder nor accelerating or braking too hard, irritating the driver in the next lane over. Connected and automated vehicles that communicate to coordinate optimal traffic patterns coul...

Posted: May 19, 2020

Rating Bureau Chief Assesses Impact of COVID-19 on California Work Comp

Bill Mudge has been put in a unique position during the pandemic. He’s got a sizeable workforce he’s had to reconfigure and manage much differently, and he heads the bureau that regulators, employers and insurers in the largest state in …

Posted: May 19, 2020

Cyber Attack on Easyjet Gets Details of 9 Million Customers

LONDON — A cyber attack on British airline easyJet accessed the email and travel details of around nine million customers, as well as the credit card details of more than 2,000 of them, it said on Tuesday. The news of …

Posted: May 19, 2020

Arthur Fizzles After Emerging as 6th Pre-Season Named Storm in 6 Years

MIAMI — Life-threatening surf and rip currents were forecast for U.S. East coast beaches as Tropical Storm Arthur kicks up ocean swells offshore, the National Hurricane Center warned on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the storm had transitioned into a...

Posted: May 19, 2020

12 Los Angeles Firefighters Recovering After Explosion

LOS ANGELES — Eight firefighters remained hospitalized Sunday after being hurt in an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent crews running for their lives when a ball of flames shot out of the building …

Posted: May 19, 2020

More States Push COVID-19 Claims to Work Comp; Potential Cost Anyone’s Guess

Regulators and lawmakers in more states are demanding that workers who claim they were sickened by COVID-19 get a fair hearing, if not an outright presumption in their favor. The Wyoming House of Representatives and Senate both passed a bill …

Posted: May 19, 2020

Pandemic Stands to Complicate Potentially Bad Fire Season

DURANGO, Colo. — As if Southwest Colorado’s extreme drought wasn’t enough to raise concerns about a potentially destructive wildfire season, the added complications of the coronavirus have only fueled that anxiety. The COVID-19 outbreak demands peopl...

Posted: May 18, 2020

Nevada Highway Damaged by Largest Area Quake in 65 Years

LAS VEGAS — The cracked main highway between Las Vegas and Reno reopened Friday, 10 hours after a predawn magnitude 6.5 earthquake that a researcher called the largest to strike the remote area of western Nevada in 65 years. No …

Posted: May 18, 2020

PG&E Judge Rejects Bid to Throw Out Victims’ Bankruptcy Vote

The judge overseeing PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy rejected an effort by dissident fire victims to upend voting on the California utility’s reorganization plan. Judge Dennis Montali said during a hearing Friday that he planned to deny a motion asking to th...

Posted: May 18, 2020

Purell’s Claim to Combat Disease Spurs Demand — and Lawsuits

Everyone’s favorite hand sanitizer may have to stand trial for claiming it can stop you from getting sick. A trio of lawsuits has hit Purell’s maker, Gojo Industries Inc., since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public...

Posted: May 18, 2020

Talc Miner Imerys Strikes Deal to Resolve 14,000 Cancer Lawsuits

Imerys SA, which mines talc used in Johnson & Johnson’s iconic Baby Powder and other products, agreed to turn over its North American operations to resolve more than 14,000 lawsuits claiming the mineral caused cancer in some consumers. Imerys Talc …

Posted: May 18, 2020

A.M. Best: Global Insurance Market Is Well Capitalized in the Face of COVID-19

Global insurers are well capitalized to absorb the hit from rising claims and costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, ratings agency AM Best said on Monday, citing a stress test it conducted to gauge the immediate impact of outbreak on …

Posted: May 18, 2020

Viewpoint: Pa. Supreme Court Hands Insurers ‘Small Victory’ on COVID-19 Litigation

Key Takeaways The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over all COVID-19 insurance coverage litigation. The decision relates to an application for extraordinary relief from a Pittsburgh-based restaurant seeking coverage for bu...

Posted: May 18, 2020

Zesty.ai Refines Fire Risk Model by Adding IBHS Data on Building Materials

Zesty.ai, a California insurtech start-up, is hoping to fine-tune fire-risk scores that sometimes can make it challenging for homeowners to find coverage. Marketing Director Nick Allain said the company wants to help insurers who might otherwise over...

Posted: May 18, 2020

Federal Lawmakers Propose Heroes Compensation Act For Essential Worker Comp

A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a plan to compensate essential workers who fall sick of die from COVID-19, modeling the Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act after the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Reps. Carolyn B....

Posted: May 15, 2020

Zoom Sued by Church for Bible Class Hijacked by ‘Sick’ Porn

One of San Francisco’s oldest churches has joined the chorus of complaints that Zooming is not safe — with a lawsuit claiming its bible study class was “Zoombombed” with pornography. “The footages were sick and sickening — portraying adults engaging...

Posted: May 15, 2020

Bid to Force Interruption Insurance to Cover Virus Shelved

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana lawmakers won’t try to force business interruption insurance policies to cover the widespread closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. Rick Ward, a Port Allen Republican, scrapped the proposal Wednesday amid concern...

Posted: May 15, 2020

U.S. Employers Wary of Coronavirus ‘Immunity’ Tests as They Move to Reopen

NEW YORK — U.S. employers have cooled to the idea of testing workers for possible immunity to the coronavirus as they prepare to reopen factories and other workplaces. Blood tests that check for antibodies to the new coronavirus have been …

Posted: May 15, 2020

U.S. Issues First Coronavirus Workplace Guidance to Nursing Homes

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes on Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart. The...

Posted: May 15, 2020

USDA Limits Review Requirements of Some Biotech Farm Products

CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As a result, some pro...

Posted: May 15, 2020

Companies Fear Coronavirus Liability Lawsuits. So Far, Few Exist

Businesses are urging U.S. lawmakers to shield companies from what they fear could be a flood of lawsuits by workers and consumers blaming employers for exposing them to the new coronavirus. But so far, court records show few such cases …

Posted: May 15, 2020

Business News: LexisNexis, Mercury, Clearcover and Snapsheet, Tower and myMatrixx

LexisNexis Gives Thumbs Up to Water Leak Detectors A study by analytics provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that in-line water shutoff systems correlate with a decrease in water claims by 96 percent, confirming the value of smart home technology...

Posted: May 15, 2020

Trump Administration Issues Global Maritime Advisory on Sanctions, With Industry Input

WASHINGTON/LONDON — The Trump administration on Thursday issued guidelines to help ship owners and insurers avoid the risks of sanctions penalties, standards that maritime players and a senior State Department official said were modified following mo...

Posted: May 15, 2020