Claims Journal

Business News: Hippo and SimpliSafe, Infinilytics, Mitchell and Honk

Hippo Teams with SimpliSafe Hippo Insurance has teamed up with SimpliSafe to give homeowners access to home security systems. Hippo, a managing general agent launched in Palo Alto, Calif. in 2015, was an early adopter of smart-phone technology to con...

Posted: Apr 03, 2020

Amazon Exec Called Fired Worker ‘Not Smart’ in Leaked Memo

A senior Amazon.com Inc. executive called a fired Staten Island warehouse worker “not smart or articulate” in internal discussions about how the company should respond to employee criticism of its handling of the pandemic, according to a person famil...

Posted: Apr 03, 2020

City, Developer Clash Over Demolition Of Collapsed Hotel

NEW ORLEANS — Plans to demolish the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans, which partially collapsed in October, remain in limbo as the city and developers disagree over how to safely bring down the structure. The hotel developer, 1031 Canal …

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Doctors on Coronavirus Frontline Seek Protection From Malpractice Suits

U.S. medical professionals on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic are lobbying policymakers for protection from potential malpractice lawsuits as hospitals triage care and physicians take on roles outside their specialties. State chapters of t...

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Life-or-Death Hospital Decisions Come With Threat of Lawsuits

Doctors and hospitals overwhelmed in the pandemic will have to make their excruciating life-or-death decisions meticulously or they risk being second-guessed by a jury when the onslaught is over. Lawyers who defend health care providers are already g...

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Overflowing Oil Tanks Have Traders Eyeing Rail Cars for Storage

Oil companies are turning to rail cars to stash the crude they can’t sell, as the world runs out of places to store a growing glut of cheap barrels. North American producers, refiners and traders are now looking to store …

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Amazon Hires 80,000, Adds Safety Precautions at Warehouses

Amazon.com Inc. said it has hired 80,000 people to help meet demand for online orders from people hunkered down during the pandemic and has stepped up safety precautions at its U.S warehouses. Dave Clark, Amazon’s logistics chief, said in a …

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

An Uproar Among Workers Who Supply the World’s Meat Is Spreading

A growing number of workers who are crucial to supplying the world with meat are demanding that their companies do more to keep them safe from the coronavirus. Labor unions are starting to speak out as their members fall ill. …

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Claims People: Beazley, Preferred Medical and AGCS

Beazley Promotes 2 in Claims Team Specialist insurer Beazley has promoted Steven Chang to global head of complex claims and Kati Bynon to global claims leader for health care. The two appointments follow Beth Diamond’s promotion to group head of …

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Viewpoint: Empathy, Compassion and Confidence for Better Outcomes

Humanitarianism deals with actively working to improve the happiness and welfare of others. The concepts of humanitarianism and advocacy are actually integral to the workers’ compensation industry, as we’re in the unique position to offer solutions t...

Posted: Apr 02, 2020

Judge Dismisses Chemours Lawsuit Against Dupont

DOVER, Del. — A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours. Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III ruled Monday t...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Marriott Says New Data Breach Affects 5.2 Million Guests

Marriott says guests’ names, loyalty account information and other personal details may have been accessed in the second major data breach to hit the company in less than two years. Marriott said Tuesday approximately 5.2 million guests worldwide may...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Insurers Fret as Company Bosses Face Coronavirus Legal Claims

Insurers are increasingly worried about shareholders, employees or customers bringing coronavirus-related claims against company executives and are considering excluding the virus from policies that protect the bosses, industry sources say. Two cases...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Walmart Starts Temperature Checks For Staff in Safety Ramp-Up Against Coronavirus

Walmart Inc said on Tuesday it would start taking the temperature of employees and provide them with masks as it addresses growing safety concerns among retail workers laboring through the coronavirus crisis. The retailer, which is the largest employ...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Hackers ‘Without Conscience’ Target Health-Care Providers

When hackers broke into computers at Hammersmith Medicines Research, a London-based company that carries out clinical trials for new medicines, it was a nightmare scenario for managing director Malcolm Boyce. The coronavirus crisis was just beginning...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Barclays Wins Top Court Ruling Over Doctor’s Sex Abuse

Barclays Plc won a Supreme Court ruling over allegations that a doctor sexually assaulted patients while conducting physicals for the bank more than 30 years ago. The court said Barclays wasn’t financially liable for the assaults, which took place fr...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Insurers Back Government Fund for Employers, Workers Hurt by Virus Shutdowns

The property/casualty insurance industry has joined a broad business coalition in supporting and crafting a new federal relief fund for businesses and workers affected by the quarantine and stay-at-home measures necessitated by the coronavirus crisis...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Main Street Wig Shop Among New Litigants in COVID Claims Battle

As coronavirus spreads across the country, litigation against insurers for denying claims caused by the pandemic is spreading along with it. A group of Chicago businesses and a Houston-area wig store are the latest litigants to press business-interru...

Posted: Apr 01, 2020

Artificial Intelligence Can Help Some Businesses, But Not All

The temptation for businesses to use artificial intelligence and other technology to improve performance, drive down labor costs, and better the bottom line is understandable. But before pursuing automation that could put the jobs of human employees...

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

Insurer Chubb Investigating a ‘Computer Security Incident’

Insurer Chubb Ltd on Thursday said it is investigating a computer security incident that may involve unauthorized access to data held by an outside service provider. Chubb has no evidence that the incident affected its network, a spokesman said. “Our...

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

PG&E Won’t Make Victims of Deadly Fire Pay Its Criminal Fine

PG&E Corp. won’t tap a fund for wildfire victims to pay $4 million in fines and expenses for involuntary manslaughter, avoiding a possible hurdle to its exit from bankruptcy. Insurers with claims against PG&E in bankruptcy agreed to wait 15 …

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

Zoom Sued for Allegedly Illegally Disclosing Personal Data

Zoom Video Communications Inc. was sued by a user who claims the popular video-conferencing service is illegally disclosing personal information. The company collects information when users install or open the Zoom application and shares it, without...

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

Walmart Amps Up Its Virus Response for Workers

Walmart Inc. will provide masks and gloves for its workers and take their temperature before shifts, the latest moves by the nation’s biggest private employer to ensure the safety of its employees as unrest mounts among front-line food retail workers...

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

Viewpoint: What the Government Can and Should Do in Response to COVID-19

The world-wide spread of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) presents us all with rather interesting questions about the power and role of federal and state government. COVID-19 is the illness caused by a virus strain that began spreading in people in Decem...

Posted: Mar 31, 2020

Bayer Pays $39.5 Million to Settle Roundup False-Ad Lawsuits

Bayer AG agreed to pay $39.5 million to settle allegations that its Monsanto unit ran misleading ads about the controversial Roundup weedkiller and its potential health risks to humans and animals. As part of the deal, language will be removed …

Posted: Mar 31, 2020