Source: Business Insurance

July 17, 2019 A trade dispute between South Korea and Japan has disrupted chemicals supplies to South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., hampering the production of its Galaxy Note 10 smartphones, Technobezz reported. The chemicals, manufactured mainly by Japanese firms, are used to produce chipsets for mobile phones.

July 17, 2019 A U.A.E.-based oil tanker went missing on July 13 in Iranian waters, raising concerns that it may have been seized by Iran amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, The Washington Post reported citing sources. U.A.E.-based Prime Tankers L.L.C. operated the ship which was on its way to Sharjah.

Source: Business Insurance

July 16, 2019 U.K.-based banks are preparing for a spike in payments to settle claims for mis-sold insurance, which has cost lenders more than £35 billion ($44 billion) so far, Reuters reported. The Royal Bank of Scotland P.L.C., Barclays P.L.C., Lloyds Banking Group P.L.C. and HSBC Bank P.L.C. among others face a deadline in August to settle claims related to payment protection insurance policies.

Source: Business Insurance

Thomson Reuters July 10, 2019 (Reuters) — The District of Columbia sued Marriott International Inc. on Tuesday, claiming that mandatory resort fees at its hotels are illegal and deceptive, the attorney general’s office said.“Marriott reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in profit by deceiving consumers about the true price of its hotel rooms,” said District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine. “Bait-and-switch advertising and deceptive pricing practices are illegal.”Marriott declined to comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit said that 189 Marriott properties worldwide impose fees ranging from $9 to $95 a day.

Source: Business Insurance

Matthew Lerner July 16, 2019 Insured losses from Hurricane Barry will be close to $300 million, catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. said in a statement Tuesday.The initial estimate includes privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial and industrial properties and automobiles but does not include losses sustained by the National Flood Insurance Program, the statement said.

Source: Business Insurance

Matthew Lerner July 15, 2019 Hurricane Barry made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday afternoon along the northern Gulf Coast after briefly becoming a hurricane only hours before landfall, but then weakened by early afternoon. State Farm Group has the largest exposure to commercial multiperil (nonliability) insurance in Louisiana with a 12.89% market share, almost twice that of Markel Corp. Group at 6.58%, according to data from A.M. Best Co. Inc. on Monday. In Mississippi, Travelers Cos. Inc. has the largest commercial multiperil exposure with a 11.59% market share, Nationwide Group is next at 8.95% and State Farm Group third at 6.95%, data showed. Data and analytics provider CoreLogic said it is waiting for the rainfall to slow to determine the flood footprint and get an accurate view of damages, according to an email from a spokeswoman.

Source: Business Insurance

Gloria Gonzalez July 15, 2019 Rising mass shooting events in the United States have resulted in increasing demand for active assailant insurance coverage and insurers are responding to that demand, according to a new report. Two hundred fifty active shootings took place between 2000-2017, with an escalating trend during that time frame, according to FBI data cited by the A.M. Best Co. Inc. in a special report published on Monday called Insurers Create New Types of Coverage for Mass Shooting Attacks. From 2000 to 2006, shooting incidents averaged 6.7 a year, jumping to 16.4 a year from 2007 to 2013, and then averaging 22 a year between 2014 and 2017. “Active shooter attacks differ from acts of terrorism, which typically target specific buildings or locations and trigger coverage from traditional terrorism policies that require property damage for coverage to apply,” Best stated in the report. “The standard terrorism policy also requires that the motive be ideological, political or religious in nature, unlike active shooter attacks, for which the motive may be personal or unclear. The costs following an active shooter attack can be substantial, and some insureds do not realize that their policies do not cover active shooting incidents,” the report continued. “They may believe that this type of attack falls under terrorism coverage but it does not.” In addition, a property policy handles the physical damage of an altercation, but general liability sections do not clearly include or exclude active shooter incidents, which is “a concern for companies that are left footing a huge bill after this type of incident,” according to the report. “This gap in general liability policies, as well as marketplace demand, has provided insurers an opportunity to offer traditional named perils coverage for a new category of risk,” the report stated. Insurers are seeing strong demand for active assailant policies, which have been around since 2011, but “have become more popular in the past three years, amid mounting anxieties about violent attacks,” Best stated. These new insurance policies define this type of attack more broadly than the typical definitions of terrorism and can cover physical damage, business interruption, legal liability, funeral expenses and death benefits for victims, and loss of attraction or brand rehabilitation expenses, according to the report. Common exclusions in active assailant policies include terrorism or coverage for casualties above a threshold limit – generally three to four – as well as potential employee exclusions, meaning guests or visitors at the insured location are covered, but not employees although employees can be included for a higher premium, according to the report.

Source: Business Insurance

Thomson Reuters July 15, 2019 (Reuters) — Britain will change the discount rate used to calculate compensation for personal injuries to minus 0.25% from minus 0.75%, disappointing insurers who were hoping for a higher rate to limit the money they must set aside to cover payouts. The decision by the ministry of justice follows a review in response to lobbying from motor insurers, whose profits were hit by the move to cut the so-called “Ogden Rate” from 2.5% in 2017. UBS analysts said insurers had been expecting a rate of around 0.5% and had moved to setting their reserves based on a rate of 0%. The lower rate chosen by the ministry means insurers will have to set aside more money than expected for lump sum payments for people seriously injured in car crashes, potentially denting their profits and pushing up drivers’ premiums.

Source: Business Insurance

July 15, 2019 Floods inundated shops and houses and damaged roads in the cities of Nafpaktos and Patra in western Greece on July 14, Reuters reported. The catastrophe forced authorities to close a major road and evacuate people from flooded homes in the region.

Source: Business Insurance

July 15, 2019 Peru’s mining, petroleum and energy industry association said that an oil leak in the northeastern region cost companies $2 million per day after indigenous communities damaged the Norperuano Pipeline in May, Telesur reported. Peru has declared a state of emergency for the next 60 days after another oil spill contaminated the Maranon River in the Loreto region.