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.

Source: Business Insurance

July 15, 2019 U.S.-based Walmart Inc. shut 124 out of 375 stores across Chile after 17,000 workers went on an indefinite strike on July 10, Supply Chain Brain reported citing sources. The workers are demanding compensation for multitasking related to an increase in automation at the retail giant’s stores.

Source: Business Insurance

July 15, 2019 U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority imposed 10 fines worth more than £319 million ($401 million) on companies in the first half of this year amid increased pressure over its alleged failure to protect customers, The Guardian reported. The total fine so far this year exceeded more than five times the amount of fines for 2018 and outstripped the combined total of £311 million for the previous three years.

Source : Business Insurance

Thomson Reuters July 12, 2019 (Reuters) — The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing a criminal probe into whether Johnson & Johnson lied about potential cancer risks of its talcum powder and has convened a grand jury in Washington, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Bloomberg report said the grand jury was looking into documents related to what company officials knew about any carcinogens in their products. J&J disclosed in its annual report in February that it had received subpoenas from the Justice Department and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the ongoing baby powder litigation but did not give more details.

Source: Business Insurance

Thomson Reuters July 12, 2019 (Reuters) — New Orleans officials warned city residents to stock up on supplies and prepare to shelter in their homes on Friday as “life-threatening” Tropical Storm Barry was poised to come ashore as possibly the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019. While the tempest did not yet have hurricane-force winds, it was forecast to bring torrential rains of up to 25 inches in certain places, which officials said risked flooding along the already swollen lower Mississippi River.

Source: Business Insurance

July 10, 2019 Heavy rains and floods struck northern Spain on July 8, damaging roads, inundating retailers and causing power outages in the region, Daily Mail reported. The floods swept away cars, disrupted railway services and forced authorities to close six roads in the Navarra region.

Source: Business Insurance

July 10, 2019 U.K.-based Information Commissioner’s Office is proposing to fine U.S.-based hotel operator Marriott International Inc. £99.2 million ($124 million) under the General Data Protection Regulation after hackers stole 339 million guests’ records, The Guardian reported. The data regulator said that 30 million of the hacked guest records involve residents of 31 countries in the European Economic Area. U.K.-based Information Commissioner’s Office is proposing to fine U.S.-based hotel operator Marriott International Inc. £99.2 million ($124 million) under the General Data Protection Regulation after hackers stole 339 million guests’ records, The Guardian reported. The data regulator said that 30 million of the hacked guest records involve residents of 31 countries in the European Economic Area.

Source: Business Insurance

Claire Wilkinson July 09, 2019 Equipment breakdown now rivals fire loss in both frequency and severity of claims, driven by the booming economy and human influence, according to an FM Global analysis of large property-related losses greater than $3 million released Tuesday. Of the 232 large risk losses reported to the Johnston, Rhode Island-based insurer last year, 65 were due to equipment breakdown resulting in 28% of its losses across all industries in 2018 based on gross loss dollar amount, the company said in a statement. “During the last five years we’ve seen increasing numbers of losses from equipment breakdown, especially in the pulp and paper, chemical, electric utility and mining industries,” Brion Callori, FM Global senior vice president of engineering and research, said in the statement. Lack of maintenance was a factor in two-thirds of equipment breakdown losses in 2018, while nearly half had a significant human element impact or influence, FM Global said. “In a booming economy, many companies aren’t necessarily taking their facilities offline for preventive maintenance,” Mr. Callori said in the statement. Operator training was a factor in 43% of equipment losses, highlighting the need for improved training and knowledge transfer as the industry sees significant turnover due to demographic changes, the insurer said. Large risk losses are those losses greater than $3 million reported to the insurer that do not include natural hazard loss.