Source: Business Insurance
March 19, 2019 Swiss Re Ltd. said that it is part of an insurance group covering U.S.-based The Boeing Co. and Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise S.C., Reuters reported. Swiss Re said that it is a co-insurer for Ethiopian Airlines and part of the group of insurers for Boeing’s airliner manufacturer liability policy. Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed on March 10, killing all 157 people on board.
Source: Business Insurance
March 19, 2019 (Reuters) — A group of U.S. states is investigating Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. for potential unfair and deceptive acts related to reports of hundreds of vehicle fires, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said on Monday. The South Korean automakers have recalled more than 2.3 million vehicles since 2015 to address various engine fire risks in a series of recalls. In November, Reuters reported that federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation into Hyundai and Kia to determine if vehicle recalls linked to engine defects had been conducted properly. “We are aware of multiple fires involving Connecticut vehicles, including some allegedly already repaired through the recall process. This is a serious matter, and we are moving aggressively and responsibly to uncover the facts and to ensure accountability,” Attorney General Tong said in a statement.
Source: Business Insurance
March 20, 2019 U.S.-based Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center said that the Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico erupted on March 18, triggering warnings for ash rain and mudslides in the country’s central region, The Yucatan Times reported. Mexico’s disaster prevention agency said that the eruption spewed a column of ash around 1.2 kilometers into the air. There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.
Source: Business Insurance:
March 20, 2019
Australia’s financial services regulator called on insurers and banks to include climate as one of the material risks they manage to meet obligations to policyholders and depositors, Reuters reported. The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority said that climate-related risks are foreseeable and actionable for financial firms.
Judy Greenwald March 18, 2019
Source: Business Insurance
A putative class action lawsuit filed against a Chicago senior living center under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act has been settled for an undisclosed amount, according to a district court filing in the case. The case, Cynthia Dixon v. The Washington and Jane Smith Community-Beverly et al., is one of about 200 cases that have been filed under the law, according to a defense attorney who is not directly involved in the case. In January, the Illinois Supreme Court held in a unanimous opinion involving Six Flags Entertainment Corp. that plaintiffs can sue firms under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act for allegedly failing to properly notify people about their policies even if no actual harm is claimed. In her lawsuit against the center, which was originally filed in state court, then moved to U.S. District Court in Chicago, Ms. Dixon charged the center had unlawfully collected, used, stored and disclosed her and the proposed class’ “sensitive and proprietary biometric data” in violation of the Illinois law. According to the complaint, when employees are first hired by the center, they are required to have their fingerprints scanned by a Kronos Inc. fingerprint scanner to enroll them in its employee database. Chelmsford, Mass.-based Kronos is also a defendant in the case. The complaint said also Ms. Dixon was required to scan her fingerprints at the beginning and end of each workday. The complaint charges the center did not inform its employees that it disclosed employees’ fingerprint data to the vendor; that it did not inform its employees of the purpose and duration for which it collects this data; that it did not obtain written releases from employees before collecting their fingerprints; and that it did not provide employees with a written, publicly available policy on the issue.
Thomson Reuters March 18, 2019 (Reuters)
Source: Business Insurance
— A massive fire at a fuels storage company along the Houston Ship Channel may burn for two more days, an official said on Monday as the blaze spread a plume of black smoke across the city, shutting schools in two nearby communities. The fire began Sunday morning in a giant storage tank containing naphtha, a volatile substance used to create octane-boosting components of gasoline. No injuries were reported from the fire, but nearby residents were encouraged to remain indoors. The entire city of Deer Park, Texas, a Houston suburb, was told to shelter indoors all day Sunday. The order was lifted Monday.
Gloria Gonzalez March 18, 2019 Source:
Business Insurance
The National Flood Insurance Program is launching a new risk rating system for its flood insurance policies. David Maurstad, deputy associate administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration and chief executive of the NFIP, called Risk Rating 2.0 a “game-changing initiative for the NFIP” during a media call on Monday. More information about policyholder impacts and the implementation timeline will be released in the coming weeks, but the new rating system for flood risks will be “data-driven” and factor in different variables rather than basing flood insurance premiums simply on whether or not a policyholder is in a flood zone, Mr. Maurstad said. For example, the new system will determine a policyholder’s flood risk by incorporating elements such different types of flooding — heavy rainfall from a hurricane, river overflow or coastal surge — and a building’s distance to a coast or river. “We’re going to change an insurance rating structure that hasn’t fundamentally been changed since the 1970s,” he said. “We’re going to consider more flood risks than we currently do now. It is going to be based on replacement costs of the properties.” The intention is to try to “close the insurance gap,” Mr. Maurstad said.
Aon PLC confirmed Tuesday that it is considering a bid for rival Willis Towers Watson PLC in a deal that potentially would create a brokerage behemoth with more than $19 billion in annual revenue.
In a statement, Aon said: “The company confirms that it is in the early stages of considering an all-share business combination with Willis Towers Watson. The company emphasizes that, at this point, its evaluation of a potential transaction is at a preliminary stage and there can be no certainty that any transaction will take place nor as to the form or terms on which any transaction might be pursued.”
The announcement followed a Bloomberg report earlier on Tuesday citing unidentified sources that said Aon is preparing to submit a bid for its rival “in the coming weeks” and the firm’s “have held preliminary talks.”
If it goes ahead, a merger of Aon, the world’s second largest brokerage, with Willis Towers Watson, the No. 3 brokers, would create the largest insurance brokerage in the world, eclipsing rival Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., which is in the process of buying Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC, another Top 10 brokerage.
February premium renewal rates increased across all major commercial lines of business in February except for workers compensation, Ivans Insurance Solutions said Tuesday in its monthly report.
Tampa, Florida-based Ivans said the largest increase in premium renewal rates was for commercial auto, which increased 4.61%, compared with a 4.57% increase in January.
Increases were also reported for commercial property, up 4.58% from 3.74%; umbrella, up 3.06% from 2.17%; and general liability, up 1.81% from 1.16% in January.
Workers compensation was down 3.38%, compared with a 1.04% decrease in January. In addition, business owners’ policies were down 3.94%, compared with a 4.23% decrease in January, according to the report.
February 06, 2019
Source: Business Insurance
Insurance Australia Group Ltd.’s profit declined more than 9% year over year to $500 million Australia ($357 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31, 2018 driven by Sydney hailstorm-related losses, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Gross written premiums totaled nearly AUD 6 billion while the insurer’s underlying margin grew more than 16%. Insurance profit fell 33% to AUD 496 million.
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