Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
OSHA Releases First Coronavirus Guidance for Nursing Homes
May 19 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor last Thursday issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6...
Amazon’s French Warehouses to Reopen After Ending Virus Safety Dispute with Workers
May 18 2020 // Amazon’s French warehouses are set to reopen on Tuesday with about 30% of employees, three union officials said, ending a month-long dispute over whether the e-commerce giant was doing enough to protect workers from...
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Addresses COVID-19 Testing Coverage
May 18 2020 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has issued a bulletin addressing coverage for COVID-19 testing in response to an executive order from Gov. Doug Burgum. The new bulletin builds an a previous bulletin in...
AM Best’s Stress Testing Indicates Most Insurers Can Withstand Pandemic Hit
May 18 2020 // Analysts at the AM Best ratings firm say their initial stress tests of insurance companies globally to gauge the preliminary impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on their financial strength found good news: “most...
Coronavirus Blocks Farm Laborers from Working in UK – in Possible Foretaste of Brexit
May 18 2020 // Britain’s fruit and vegetable farmers have long dreaded their country’s exit from the European Union, worrying that it would keep out the tens of thousands of Eastern European workers who come every year to...
Italy to Protect Businesses from Liability if Workers Catch Coronavirus: News Report
May 18 2020 // Italian businesses that follow the health and safety rules are protected from liability in case returning workers catch coronavirus, the head of the country’s insurance association said in an interview with La...
Louisiana Senate Backs Bills to Shield Businesses from Virus Lawsuits
May 18 2020 // Restaurants serving takeout and delivery orders in Louisiana during the coronavirus outbreak and businesses providing protective gear should be largely shielded from lawsuits for injuries, the state Senate decided on May...
Workers at Kansas FedEx Facility Infected with Coronavirus
May 18 2020 // FedEx has confirmed that workers from its facility in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe have tested positive for COVID-19. A spokesperson from FedEx Ground said in a statement that it was working cooperatively with county...
Nephew: Dead Worker Had Warned Virus Was ‘Everywhere’ at Iowa Plant
May 18 2020 // In the days before his death, an Iowa meatpacking worker twice warned that the coronavirus was spreading through his plant because of its crowded spaces and lack of personal protective equipment, his nephew said. Husen...
Citing 9/11 Victims Fund, Lawmakers Eye U.S. Compensation Pool For COVID-19 Workers
May 18 2020 // A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers last week unveiled a plan to compensate essential workers who fall sick or die from COVID-19. The lawmakers are modeling their Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act after the September...
Buckle Adds Delivery Coverage During Pandemic for Georgia Rideshare Drivers
May 18 2020 // Buckle, a technology-driven financial services company, has been granted temporary approval to add insurance coverage to its rideshare driver members’ policies for the delivery of food, household supplies, and other...
How Do Cyber Policies Stand-Up in a Pandemic?
May 18 2020 // We are in unprecedented times. If you’re like us, you suddenly found yourself and your company operating entirely remotely and have remained working this way for quite some time. Such an abrupt change can be a...
Buffett Says Berkshire Would Write Pandemic Insurance. That Is, If the Price Is Right.
May 18 2020 // The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway said that while his insurance units aren’t heavily exposed to underwriting losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, the insurer would be willing to cover pandemics in the...
Goodbye Open Plan Office? Hello 6-Feet Social Distancing Workspace?
May 18 2020 // One-way corridors, buffer zones around desks, and clear plastic screens to guard against colleagues’ coughs and sneezes may become office standards after coronavirus stay-at-home orders are lifted, say occupational...
What to Expect in Workers’ Compensation Costs From COVID-19: NCCI
May 18 2020 // If only 10% of health care workers contract COVID-19 and all of their claims are deemed compensable, workers’ compensation loss costs for that sector could double or even triple in some states, according to an...
Transparency Is Key for Insurance Agents Handling Coronavirus Claims
May 18 2020 // Business interruption insurance has been a much-debated topic during the coronavirus crisis, with some businesses already pushing back against virus-related claim denials. In several cities, groups of businesses have filed...
States Will Not Win in Mandating Coronavirus Business Interruption Coverage: S&P
May 18 2020 // Standard & Poor’s said it does not expect state legislators to succeed in their efforts to retroactively expand business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses. The reason: An expectations of...
COVID-19 Clouding Cannabis Industry Pitfalls Amid Upbeat Outlook
May 18 2020 // The cannabis industry is being affected by COVID-19 much like other business sectors, but the complexities of this budding industry make its eventual recovery from the pandemic and ensuing economic fallout even harder to...
The Perilous Cannabis, Cyber, COVID-19 Connection
May 18 2020 // Cannabis, cyber and COVID-19 — the three Cs may have more in common than meets the eye. Cannabis dispensaries, now considered essential businesses in many states, have stepped up deliveries, curbside picksups and...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Chief Addresses COVID’s Impact on System
May 15 2020 // Bill Mudge has been put in a unique position during the pandemic. He’s got a sizeable workforce he’s had to reconfigure and manage much differently, and he heads the bureau that regulators, employers and...
