Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Federal Coronavirus Business Interruption Suits Now Top 100; Many More Expected
May 22 2020 // A federal court has received notice that 101 lawsuits have been filed as of Wednesday seeking coverage from insurers for business interruption losses caused by COVID-19. Plaintiffs attorneys say they expect the number to...
Possible Virus Exposure Shut Louisiana OMV Office the Day it Reopened
May 21 2020 // Coronavirus fears closed a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles location near New Orleans the same morning that it reopened after a two-month pandemic closure. The office in Harvey was notified that someone in the building...
COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps Proving Not Much of a Help Thus Far
May 21 2020 // Harnessing today’s technology to fight the coronavirus pandemic is turning out to be more complicated than it first appeared. The first U.S. states that rolled out smartphone apps for tracing the contacts of COVID-19...
Update: Generali 1st Quarter Net Profit Plunges 84.8% on COVID-19 Investment Hit
May 21 2020 // Generali’s first quarter net profit plunged 84.8% to €113 million (US$124 million) from €744 million (US$815.5 million) reported in Q1 2019, as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial...
When UK Insurers, Banks Emerge from Lockdown, Their Employees Face New Normal
May 21 2020 // Limits on elevators, thermal imaging and temperature checks will greet a first wave of traders and bankers in Britain preparing to return to offices under new norms to tackle the coronavirus. Britain’s financial...
New York Dusts Off 1918 Pandemic Playbook For Help in Making Subway Safer
May 21 2020 // As in 1918, New York may use staggered work hours to keep subway safe As New York City makes plans to reopen in the coming months, officials are dusting off the playbook from the 1918 flu pandemic, when businesses were...
UK’s Aviva Expects COVID-19-Related Claims of Nearly $200 Million
May 21 2020 // British insurer Aviva expects 160 million pounds ($195 million) in claims related to the coronavirus pandemic and weaker second quarter sales, it said on Thursday, as government lockdowns aimed at containing the virus hit...
Roads Are Emptier But Riskier During Coronavirus Quarantine. Fatality Rate Up 14%.
May 21 2020 // As Americans have been driving less and covering fewer miles, the emptier roads have become more lethal. Preliminary data from the National Safety Council indicate a year-over-year 14% jump in fatality rates per miles...
States Sharing of COVID-19 Patients’ Data With First Responders Sparks Privacy Concern
May 21 2020 // More than 11 million people have been tested in the U.S. for COVID-19, all with the assurance that their private medical information would remain protected and undisclosed. Yet, public officials in at least two-thirds of...
OSHA Vows More Work Safety Inspections for Coronavirus as Businesses Reopen
May 21 2020 // The U.S. Labor Department will expand inspections of businesses to reduce job-site hazards related to the new coronavirus as employees begin returning to work across the country, although the policy falls short of demands...
MGM, Caesars, Boyd in Vegas to Participate in COVID-19 Testing Plan
May 20 2020 // The Las Vegas gaming industry will offer COVID-19 tests to employees before they return to work, the Culinary Union announced Tuesday, moving the hard-hit sector a step closer to reopening. MGM Resorts International,...
For Third Point Re, COVID-19 Crisis Hurts, but It Celebrates 1st Underwriting Profit
May 20 2020 // Third Point Re reported a net loss of $183.6 million for the first quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19-related investment volatility – but the company still had big reasons to celebrate. For the first time since its...
North Carolina Revises Workers’ Comp Premium Rules Related to COVID-19
May 20 2020 // Two new rule revisions to the North Carolina Basic Manual for Workers Compensation and Employers Liability (NC Basic Manual) related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been approved by the North Carolina Department of...
McDonald’s Faces Class Action From Workers Over COVID-19 Safety
May 20 2020 // Five McDonald’s workers in Chicago filed a class action lawsuit against the chain on Tuesday, accusing it of failing to adopt government safety guidance on COVID-19 and endangering employees and their...
Pandemic Could Complicate Colorado’s Potentially Bad Fire Season
May 19 2020 // As if Southwest Colorado’s extreme drought wasn’t enough to raise concerns about a potentially destructive wildfire season, the added complications of the coronavirus have only fueled that anxiety. The COVID-19...
Report: Regulators Sat on Complaint as Virus Outbreak Grew at Iowa Plant
May 19 2020 // State safety regulators declined to inspect an Iowa pork plant after receiving a complaint alleging workers were exposed to the coronavirus in crowded conditions — a decision that critics said allowed a burgeoning...
Insurer Beazley Raises $300M to Strengthen Balance Sheet on COVID-19 Uncertainties
May 19 2020 // Beazley, the Lloyd’s specialist insurer, announced it raised £247 million (approximately $300 million) in capital via an equity placement designed to strengthen its balance sheet as a result of the continuing...
Nursing Home With Oregon’s Deadliest Virus Outbreak Sued
May 19 2020 // The daughter of a woman who died after contracting the coronavirus at a Portland long-term care facility filed a $1.8 million lawsuit Thursday claiming elder abuse. Angela Brown says her 75-year-old mother, Judith Jones,...
P/C Insurers Back a Federal Pandemic Loss Fund But Not a Backstop Like TRIA
May 19 2020 // Property/casualty insurance carrier groups are developing a proposal for a federal program to replace revenues lost by businesses shut down during pandemics like COVID-19, but their program won’t be modeled after the...
How Coronavirus Has Affected Auto Insurance Shopping
May 19 2020 // This year began with auto insurance buyers shopping around more than ever but by mid-March shopping began to slow down before returning to normal a few weeks later. According to the data firm LexisNexis, shopping has...
