Source: Business Insurance

September 19, 2019 Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. expects to pay out more than 110 billion Japanese yen ($1 billion) in claims for typhoon Faxai, The Japan Times reports. The typhoon made landfall in Japan’s Chiba prefecture on Sep. 9 and caused widespread damage.

Source: Business Insurance

September 17, 2019 The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said that Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled 82,756 vehicles fitted with Japan-basedTakata Corp.’s airbags, myGC reports. The recall relates to the passenger side front airbag inflators in Yaris, Corolla and Avensis vehicles. “As it gets older, a combination of high temperatures and humidity can cause the airbag inflator propellant to degrade,” the recall notice said.

Source: Business Insurance

September 17, 2019 Spain’s Insurance Compensation Consortium expects insurance claims related to damage caused by heavy rains and flash floods in southern and eastern Spain to total at least €142 million ($157 million), The Olive Press reported. The amount includes damage to businesses, homes, and vehicles, but excludes structural damage.

Source: Business Insurance

September 17, 2019 Bermuda-based reinsurance and retrocession linked investment manager Markel CATCo Investment Management Ltd. said that investors in its listed fund are exposed to potential losses from hurricane Dorian and typhoon Faxai, Artemis reports. The hurricane is expected to cause insurance and reinsurance losses of up to $8.5 billion, which will cause some minor losses in retrocessional insurance-linked securities or collateralized reinsurance markets.

Source: Business Insurance

September 17, 2019 The Enforcement Directorate of India said that U.K.-based consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been fined 2.3 billion Indian rupees ($32 million) for allegedly violating provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, The Economic Times reports. An investigation revealed that PwC and its functionaries allegedly received nearly $50 million of foreign investments in the guise of grants.“During the course of investigation it was revealed that PwC had received $4,98,42,747/ equivalent to Rs 229 crore as purported grants from PricewaterhouseCoopers Services BV. The funds so received as ‘grants have been utilised for various business purposes including acquisition of other Indian companies and paying non-compete fee and accordingly a complaint was filed,” said the agency.The adjudicating authority during the course of adjudication had held the company guilty of violation of section 10 (6), 6(2), 6(3) and 9 (b) of FEMA, for receiving investments in the guise of purported grants in non permitted sector without the approval of government or RBI and imposed penalty of Rs 230 crore on PwC Pvt Ltd and other penalties on office bearers of companies including past and present chairman and directors, the agency said.

Source: Business Insurance

September 16, 2019 Heavy rains have caused 10 billion Indian rupees ($140 million) worth of damage to coffee crops in the Indian state of Karnataka, The Times of India reported. The rains have damaged around 150,000 hectares of coffee estates in three districts.

Source: Business Insurance

September 16, 2019 State-owned China Export & Credit Insurance Corp. expects insurance payouts to rise this year as the trade war between the United States and China intensifies, Moneyweb reported citing sources. The insurance policies help cushion companies from the risk of export deals collapsing because of elevated duties on goods flowing between the two countries.

Source: Business Insurance

September 16, 2019 Germany’s motor vehicle authority could fine Audi AG €25,000 ($27,675) for each car carrying illegal software that can manipulate emissions levels, Euronews reported citing Bild am Sonntag. The company has until Sep. 26 to remove the software from thousands of diesel vehicles with V6 and V8 TDI engines.

Source: Business Insurance

September 16, 2019 (Reuters) – OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday night, succumbing to pressure from more than 2,600 lawsuits alleging the company helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. Purdue’s board met Sunday evening to approve the long-expected bankruptcy filing, which the company is pursuing to restructure under terms of a proposal to settle the widespread litigation. Purdue, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in a federal bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, reached a tentative deal to resolve lawsuits with 24 states and five U.S. territories, as well as lead lawyers for more than 2,000 cities, counties and other plaintiffs, the company said. Two dozen states remain opposed or uncommitted to the proposed settlement, setting the stage for contentious legal battles over who bears responsibility for a public health crisis that has claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people between 1999 and 2017, according to the latest U.S. data. Thousands of cities and counties, along with nearly every state, have sued Purdue and, in some cases, its controlling Sackler family. The lawsuits, seeking billions of dollars in damages, claim the company and family aggressively marketed prescription painkillers while misleading doctors and patients about their addiction and overdose risks. Purdue and the Sacklers have denied the allegations.

Source: Business Insurance

September 16, 2019 Insured losses from Typhoon Faxai, which made landfall in Japan on Sept. 9, will be between $3 billion and $7 billion, according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide Corp. The estimate includes damage from wind and storm surge to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural property and automobiles, Boston-based AIR said in a statement Monday. Faxai struck Tokyo with winds equivalent to a strong Category 2 hurricane and brought damaging winds along with storm surge and heavy rain to coastal regions, AIR said.