Latest COVID-19 Headlines

All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.

National Governments Must Help Provide Insurance for Future Lockdowns: EU Regulator

May 11 2020 // National governments must help provide insurance cover for future lockdowns, the industry’s European Union regulator said on Monday, as the private sector cannot afford to provide such broad coverage on its...

Meat Giant Sued for Worker’s Covid-19 Death in Philadelphia

May 11 2020 // The family of a beef plant worker who died because of the coronavirus has brought a wrongful death lawsuit in a Philadelphia court against JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat company. Ferdinand Benjamin filed the suit...

Coronvirus Discrimination and Bullying Hinders Battle Against Pandemic in Japan

May 11 2020 // The coronavirus in Japan has brought not just an epidemic of infections, but also an onslaught of bullying and discrimination against the sick, their families and health workers. A government campaign to raise awareness...

Alabama Enacts Pandemic Lawsuit Protection for Health Care Entities, Businesses

May 11 2020 // New legal protections are being extended to help shield businesses from “frivolous” lawsuits linked to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Kay Ivey said Friday. An order issued by Ivey would protect health care...

Georgia Allows Teen Drivers to Bypass Road Test During Pandemic

May 11 2020 // Thousands of teens in Georgia don’t have to take a road test to get their driver’s licenses during the coronavirus pandemic, under an executive order signed by the governor. Teens between the ages of 16 and 18...

New York Strengthens COVID-19 Safety Measures for Nursing Homes

May 10 2020 // New York state on Sunday announced new coronavirus-safety measures to better protect nursing home residents, who are highly vulnerable to the respiratory illness and account for a large share of the nearly 80,000 Americans...

COVID-19 Hits Already-Troubled Nursing Home Insurance Market; Brokers Try to Help

May 10 2020 // Nursing homes are right in the middle of the deadly coronavirus pandemic hitting the U.S, with more than 28%, or nearly 20,000, of the nation’s COVID-19 deaths happening in these long term care facilities, according...

Growing Virus Outbreak in Northeast Georgia Causes Concern

May 8 2020 // Gov. Brian Kemp warned on Tuesday that a growing coronavirus outbreak is stressing resources in northeast Georgia. Kemp has moved aggressively to allow businesses to reopen even though infections are on the rise in some...

Towing Company Sued by North Carolina for Pandemic Price-Gouging

May 8 2020 // Authorities in North Carolina filed the state’s first price-gouging lawsuit against a towing company accused of employing predatory towing and booting practices during the coronavirus pandemic. A temporary...

Houston Confronts One-Two Punch of Coronavirus and Oil Bust

May 8 2020 // When you’re known as the energy capital of the world, oil busts are nothing new. But Houston now finds itself in uncharted territory — grappling with an oil downturn in the middle of a pandemic. Like in other...

Q1 Insurtech Fundraising Drops 54% on COVID-19 Disruption: Willis Towers Watson

May 8 2020 // Overall funding for insurtech investments decreased by 54% during the first quarter as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, compared to a record high in Q1 last year, according to a report from Willis Towers...

UK Regulator Seeks Court Review in July to Resolve COVID-19 Insurance Dispute

May 8 2020 // Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aims to get business interruption insurance policies examined by a court as soon as July, a member of a policyholder action group said on Thursday. The Hiscox Action Group,...

Complex Financial Products Aren’t the Solution to Climate Change or Pandemic: Opinion

May 8 2020 // Almost exactly four years ago the World Bank announced a pioneering project, the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, designed to develop a new insurance market and protect the world’s poorest countries against...

How Caterpillar, Deere Kept Equipment Making Plants Open During Coronavirus Outbreak

May 8 2020 // While Detroit automakers’ unionized auto factories have been idled by the coronavirus pandemic, farm and construction equipment makers Deere and Caterpillar have won the support of the United Auto Workers and other...

Florida Makes Plans for Dealing with Pandemic During Hurricane Season

May 7 2020 // As Florida slowly reopens, officials are now contemplating what they should do if the coronavirus outbreak lingers into hurricane season, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. Hurricane season begins June 1 and...

Oklahoma Bill Limiting Healthcare Providers’ COVID-19 Liability Heads to Governor

May 7 2020 // The Oklahoma Senate has passed legislation previously approved by the state’s House of Representatives that would limit liability for healthcare providers and facilities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate...

Progressive Q1 Results Reflect ‘Significant Impact’ from Coronavirus, Restrictions

May 7 2020 // The Progressive Corp. said its results for the first quarter were “significantly impacted” by the spread of the coronavirus and social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions. Despite a 30% increase in...

Willis Paints COVID-19 Insurance Loss Big Picture: It’s a Wash or Historic Catastrophe

May 7 2020 // If the novel COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control soon, the disease’s impact on the insurance industry as a whole may be pretty much a wash. It not, the industry may be on the verge of an historic...

Forced Payouts of Pandemic Claims Risk Insurers’ Financial Stability: Regulators

May 7 2020 // Forcing retroactive payouts to cover business disruption losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic could ultimately put financial stability at risk, global insurance regulators said. Disputes over cover for businesses...

Munich Re Expects Coronavirus-Related Claims in Excess of $1 Billion During 2020

May 7 2020 // Munich Re said on Thursday it expected to receive claims for canceled or postponed events because of the coronavirus crisis in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) this year after it posted a 65% drop in first-quarter...