Claims Journal

Some Leery of Higher Fines On Georgia Drivers Using Phones
Some Leery of Higher Fines On Georgia Drivers Using Phones

ATLANTA — Georgia drivers could face tougher penalties for using their cell phones while driving, although some lawmakers are leery of setting higher fines. The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee heard testimony Monday on House Bill...

Posted: Feb 05, 2020

Body Shop Owners Rank Carriers on Claims
Body Shop Owners Rank Carriers on Claims

Auto body shop owners may know better than anybody how well insurance companies take care of their customers. A report card released this week by an industry publication suggests that if you’re looking for exceptional results, don’t look to the …

Posted: Feb 05, 2020

Governor Signs Limo Safety Bills Inspired By Deadly Crashes
Governor Signs Limo Safety Bills Inspired By Deadly Crashes

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s governor signed a package of limousine safety bills Monday that was inspired by deadly crashes in 2015 and 2018. One of the bills would require that motor vehicles converted into stretch limousines by January 2021 …

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Dog Loved by Veteran Could Be Euthanized After Biting Two
Dog Loved by Veteran Could Be Euthanized After Biting Two

MARIETTA, Ohio — The McCabe residence on Franklin Street is not an ordinary household. Russell, 52, and Christy, 47, have visitors who include motorcycle club members, people seeking Russell’s expertise in mechanics and construction, and sometimes pe...

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

FDA to Hold Public Meeting on Testing for Asbestos In Talc
FDA to Hold Public Meeting on Testing for Asbestos In Talc

SILVER SPRING, Md., — For the first time in nearly 50 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will examine asbestos testing for talc powders and cosmetics at a hearing on Tuesday. Regulators are taking a closer look after finding …

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Climate Models Are Running Red Hot, and Scientists Don’t Know Why
Climate Models Are Running Red Hot, and Scientists Don’t Know Why

There are dozens of climate models, and for decades they’ve agreed on what it would take to heat the planet by about 3° Celsius. It’s an outcome that would be disastrous—flooded cities, agricultural failures, deadly heat—but there’s been a grim …

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Aon Buys Cytelligence to Bolster Group Handling Cyber Hacks
Aon Buys Cytelligence to Bolster Group Handling Cyber Hacks

Aon Plc bought closely held Canadian firm Cytelligence Inc. to help boost its ability to respond to and investigate attacks on computer systems. Aon picked up employees with cybersecurity consulting and digital forensic expertise, the London-based in...

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

The U.S. May Soon Have the World’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plants
The U.S. May Soon Have the World’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plants

Bonnie Rippingille looked out at the wisps of steam curling from the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant across Biscayne Bay with a sense of dread. In December federal regulators approved Florida Power & Light Co.’s request to let the facility’s …

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Business People: Gallagher Bassett, SDV Law, Topa, Montgomery Consulting
Business People: Gallagher Bassett, SDV Law, Topa, Montgomery Consulting

Gallagher Bassett Appoints CEO for North America Gallagher Bassett announced that Mike Hessling has been promoted to chief executive officer for North America. The position is effective immediately and reports directly to Gallagher Bassett Global CEO...

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Business People: Gallagher Bassett, SDV Law, Topa, J.A. Montgomery
Business People: Gallagher Bassett, SDV Law, Topa, J.A. Montgomery

Gallagher Bassett Appoints CEO for North America Gallagher Bassett announced that Mike Hessling has been promoted to chief executive officer for North America. The position is effective immediately and reports directly to Gallagher Bassett Global CEO...

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Can Violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act Be Insured?
Can Violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act Be Insured?

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) took effect on Jan. 1 and compliance departments across the United States now have some work to do. This is especially relevant for insurance companies that insure countless businesses for regulatory...

Posted: Feb 04, 2020

Environmental Contamination Shuts Down Pennsylvania Schools
Environmental Contamination Shuts Down Pennsylvania Schools

Students at three Pennsylvania schools were told to stay home Thursday amid ongoing concerns over lead and asbestos contamination, as state police investigate what former district officials did to address problems with tainted water. One day after Go...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Emails Show the Fallout from Trump’s Claims About Dorian
Emails Show the Fallout from Trump’s Claims About Dorian

WASHINGTON — A flurry of newly released emails from scientists and top officials at the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting clearly illustrates the consternation and outright alarm caused by President Donald Trump’s false claim that Hu...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Australian Wildfires Fan Argument Over Impact of Arsonists
Australian Wildfires Fan Argument Over Impact of Arsonists

CANBERRA, Australia — What’s to blame for scores of wildfires devastating Australia’s southeast? There’s an increasingly bitter face-off between those who say arson and those who fault climate change. Each side has powerful backers and their weapons...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Two So. Cal. Men Accused of $20 Million Work Comp Kickback Scheme
Two So. Cal. Men Accused of $20 Million Work Comp Kickback Scheme

A pair of California men have been charged with multiple felonies in an alleged $20 million workers’ compensation kickback scheme. Bradley Dean Groscost, 59, of Westminster, and Felix Koltsov, 57, of Beverly Hills, surrendered last week to the Orange...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Jeff Bezos Sued for Defamation by Girlfriend Lauren Sanchez’s Brother
Jeff Bezos Sued for Defamation by Girlfriend Lauren Sanchez’s Brother

Jeff Bezos was sued for defamation by his girlfriend’s brother in a lawsuit accusing the Amazon.com Inc. chief executive officer of falsely claiming the brother provided lurid photographs to the National Enquirer. The lawsuit was filed late Friday in...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

PG&E Surges on Plan for Board Overhaul in Bankruptcy Exit
PG&E Surges on Plan for Board Overhaul in Bankruptcy Exit

PG&E Corp. shares jumped after the company outlined plans to overhaul its board of directors, bring in safety experts and create regional operating units in a broad reorganization proposal aimed at winning state approval for its bankruptcy exit. PG&E...

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

N.M. Supreme Court Holds Tribal Casino Immune from Work Comp Claims
N.M. Supreme Court Holds Tribal Casino Immune from Work Comp Claims

On Jan. 16, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Mendoza v. Isleta Resort and Casino, holding that a tribe does not waive its sovereign immunity to workers’ compensation claims merely by committing in a tribal gaming compact1 …

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Insurers Relieved After Calif. Court Clarifies Small Claims Appeal Rules
Insurers Relieved After Calif. Court Clarifies Small Claims Appeal Rules

Defense attorneys hope a published opinion issued last week by a California appellate court will curb a tactic used by plaintiff’s attorneys to steer minor cases to small claims court in hopes of winning default judgments that carriers won’t bother …

Posted: Feb 03, 2020

Court Says Insurance Doesn’t Cover Attacker in School Fight
Court Says Insurance Doesn’t Cover Attacker in School Fight

DOVER, Del. — Delaware’s Supreme Court has overturned a judge’s ruling that an insurance company must extend liability coverage to a teenager who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after a school bathroom attack that left a 16-year-old gi...

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

Los Angeles High-Rise that Caught Fire Lacked Sprinklers
Los Angeles High-Rise that Caught Fire Lacked Sprinklers

LOS ANGELES — A 25-story West Los Angeles apartment tower that caught fire, forcing firefighters to pluck stranded people from the rooftop and a ledge, had no sprinklers even though the same building burned seven years ago, authorities said. Flames …

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

Helicopter Company in Kobe Bryant Crash not Certified to Fly in Poor Visibility
Helicopter Company in Kobe Bryant Crash not Certified to Fly in Poor Visibility

The charter company whose helicopter crashed and killed basketball star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others on Sunday was not certified to fly in conditions requiring pilots to fly using only cockpit instruments, media reports said. Island Exp...

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

All Tesla Directors But Musk Settle Investors’ SolarCity Suits
All Tesla Directors But Musk Settle Investors’ SolarCity Suits

All Tesla Inc. directors except Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk agreed to a $60 million settlement to resolve shareholder lawsuits over the company’s purchase of SolarCity, according to court filings. Insurers covering Tesla’s directors and executi...

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

Wine ‘Smoke Taint’ Disputes Linger 2 Years After Wildfires
Wine ‘Smoke Taint’ Disputes Linger 2 Years After Wildfires

Recent wildfires in California Wine Country, particularly those that devastated parts of Napa and Sonoma counties in October 2017, have focused attention on whether insurance covers smoke taint damage to grapes and wine. Many wineries and grape growe...

Posted: Jan 31, 2020

Viewpoint: Does Artificial Intelligence Know Who’s Barn is the Next to Burn Down?
Viewpoint: Does Artificial Intelligence Know Who’s Barn is the Next to Burn Down?

I shudder at the thought that an algorithm developed by artificial intelligence will allow the insurance industry to no longer spread the risk among all policyholders, but stick it to the few whom the data points identify as the most …

Posted: Jan 31, 2020