Most Canadian P&C insurance industry professionals would like to see more hybrid, flexible working arrangements once the health threat of the global COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.
Professional services giant AECOM has commenced legal proceedings against Zurich American Insurance for breach of contract and violation of "the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing". AECOM alleges the insurer refused to pay out on coronavirus-related claims even though such coverage was not specifically excluded in AECOM’s "all-risk" property insurance policies.
Six people – five from Indiana and one from Michigan – have been sentenced for their roles in a fraud scheme that defrauded both a bank and an insurance company.
Despite what we all feared in March, insurtech has continued to flourish, with lots of capital supporting the sector in public and private markets, closer integration between incumbents and startups and promising solutions for longtime needs in SME and cyber.
In a $1.2-million dispute arising from a property resort fire, an Ontario appraisal umpire did not exceed his authority when he used a much higher depreciation rate than both the claimant and the insurer did to calculate the value of the property, an Ontario court has found.
AXIS Capital has confirmed in a letter to the Gwich’in Steering Committee – an organization formed by Alaska’s Gwich’in Indian Nation to preserve the environment – that it will not provide insurance coverage or investment support to projects related to exploration, drilling, or the production of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.<br /><br />AXIS Capital is the third international insurance firm, after AXA and Swiss Re, to make such a commitment, and the first North American firm to commit to not supporting oil and gas exploitation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.<br /><br />“We believe climate-related risks are among the most serious issues facing the world today,” Conrad Brooks, general counsel and corporate secretary for AXIS Capital, wrote in the letter. “We also recognize the importance of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the [Gwich’in] and your families, as well as our planet.”
Small businesses, from restaurants to nightclubs and wedding planners to beauty parlours, on Friday won the right to insurance payouts after Britain’s highest court ruled many policies should cover losses caused by coronavirus lockdowns.
Entrepreneur. Problem solver. Innovator. Physicist. Business owner. Stanford grad. These are just some of the terms that can be used to describe Justin Lewis-Weber. But today, perhaps the most fitting title for the young businessman is ‘insurance claims automation champion’.
Insurers are no stranger to large-scale technology changes, but 2020 was unique in the magnitude of change. Incumbent carriers have spent much of 2020 year moving complex IT infrastructures into the cloud and instituting new remote risk assessment technologies, in order to continue serving their customers safely and efficiently.
Allianz has revealed concrete interim targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio of policyholder funds. This is the first time the global insurer has done so, and it is in support of its stated goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
A recent worldwide hacking incident — one that even managed to compromise government systems — will likely cost cyber insurers $90 million for incident response and forensic services, experts project.
It goes without saying that 2020 presented some unique challenges for all of us in the risk-control field. COVID-19 drove the narrative for much of the year. To top it off, the insurance industry experienced a brutal year in terms of natural disasters.
Insurers increased their use of catastrophe models, drones and mobile apps during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they anticipate growth in such technology to continue once the health crisis passes.
Robin Baudoin’s home in Sulphur looks today just like it did the day after Hurricane Laura hit Southwest Louisiana with its catastrophic damage over four months ago. Its roof is completely gone and nearly all of her belonging are in shambles.
