Latest Liability Headlines
All the headlines from our Liability Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurer Looks to Close Insurance Gap for Home-Based Businesses
Jan 28 2022 // It seems more and more budding entrepreneurs have followed the allure of starting a home-based business, so much so that it is estimated that half of the 30 million small businesses in the U.S. are home-based. AXIS...
California City Votes to Require Gun Liability Insurance
Jan 26 2022 // The city council in San Jose, California, voted on Tuesday to become the nation’s first city to require gun owners to purchase insurance coverage. Funds from an accompanying annual fee of $25 will go toward reducing...
U.S. Surplus Lines Premium Up 22% in 2021
Jan 26 2022 // Surplus lines premium increased 22% and transactions rebounded almost 6.6% over their 2020 totals in the 15 states with designated surplus lines stamping offices. The increases represented record levels of premium ($51...
Mississippi High Court Faults Evanston Exclusion Policy in Plant Explosion
Jan 25 2022 // Evanston Insurance Co. may yet be required to pay for damages under an excess liability policy following a 2014 fish oil plant explosion killed one man and injured others, the Mississippi Supreme Court said this week. The...
Insurance Technology: Great American, Assurely Offer D&O for Tech Startups; Tractable AI Assesses Building Damages; Pie Offers Pay-As-You-Go
Jan 25 2022 // Great American Insurance and Assurely Offer D&O to Startup Firms The Executive Liability division of Great American Insurance Group and the insurtech, Assurely, announced an agreement to offer directors and officers...
UK Regulator Warns Firms to Protect Customers in Liability Management Schemes
Jan 25 2022 // The UK’s markets watchdog warned it will come down hard on struggling firms that leave customers out of pocket when they resort to legal procedures to manage their liabilities. The Financial Conduct Authority has...
People Moves: Marsh Promotes Payne to UK Chair of FINPRO; WTW Hires Smith From Lloyd’s for Digital Trading; Aon Bolsters UK Operations’ Team With 2 Hires
Jan 24 2022 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh, Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Aon. A summary of these new hires follows here. Marsh Promotes Payne to UK Chair of FINPRO, Morgan as Head of...
Employers Fear Long-Term Liability From ‘Take-Home’ COVID-19 Lawsuits
Jan 24 2022 // As COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, businesses say they fear a California court ruling has increased the likelihood that companies will be sued for infections, even by people who are not employees or...
In Fireworks Factory Explosion, James River Must Defend Owners, Court Says
Jan 14 2022 // A federal appeals court has found that an insurance carrier has a duty to its policyholders in wrongful death and injury litigation, all because an exclusion clause in the liability policy was poorly worded. James River...
The Relationship between You, Your Agent and Your Surety
Jan 12 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by Old Republic Surety. Commercial clients who are new to surety sometimes need help to understand the three-way relationship between their company, you (as their independent agent...
Employers Fear Long-Term Liability From ‘Take-Home’ COVID-19 Lawsuits
Jan 12 2022 // As COVID-19 cases surge in the United States, businesses say they fear a California court ruling has increased the likelihood that companies will be sued for infections, even by people who are not employees or...
Specialist MGA Platform Pine Walk Launches Energy Liability MGA, OPEnergy
Jan 12 2022 // Pine Walk Capital Ltd., the London-based specialist MGA platform, has announced the launch of its sixth MGA, OPEnergy Ltd. OPEnergy received regulatory approval from the UK regulator on Jan. 6, 2022 and will write onshore...
Insurer Need Not Defend Drug Chain in Opioid Suits Claiming Economic, Not Personal, Injury
Jan 11 2022 // In the latest turn in litigation over the opioid crisis, a state’s high court has found an insurer does not need to pay defense costs under a commercial general liability policy for a pharmacy chain facing public...
Virginia Raises Minimum Auto Insurance Limits
Jan 11 2022 // Virginia has increased the liability insurance coverage required for vehicles in Virginia. The new law applies to vehicle insurance policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2022. On January 1, 2025, requirements...
Berkley Forms Excess Liability Unit for Contractors; Names Starr’s Robinson President
Jan 7 2022 // W.R. Berkley Corp. announced the formation of Berkley Construction Solutions to provide excess liability insurance for contractors throughout the construction industry. Andrew Robinson has been named president of the new...
California Bill Would Make it Easier to Sue Gun-Makers
Jan 7 2022 // Some Democratic California lawmakers want to make it easier for people to sue gun companies for liability in shootings that cause injuries or deaths, a move advocates said Tuesday is aimed at getting around a U.S. law that...
People Moves: Renaissance Hires Jackson; AIG’s Berlini Moves to Berkshire; NCC Names Darragh as President
Jan 6 2022 // Renaissance Alliance Hires Jackson as SVP Renaissance Alliance, which helps insurance agencies grow, has named Lorenzo Jackson senior vice president and New York sales leader. Jackson recently served as Great Lakes region...
Optio Acquires Warranty & Indemnity-MGA Brockwell Capital
Jan 5 2022 // Optio Group, a London-based specialty MGA focused on emerging insurance risks, announced it has acquired Brockwell Capital Ltd., a leading warranty & indemnity MGA, for an undisclosed sum. Brockwell, an approved...
Global Re Must Pay Litigation Costs Beyond Policy Limits, Federal Appeals Court Holds
Jan 4 2022 // A federal appeals court has upended case law for reinsurers in New York, declaring that policy limits don’t extend to litigation costs for a property and casualty insurance carrier. In Global Reinsurance Corp. of...
Purdue Pharma Plans Appeal of Ruling Nixing Its Opioid Settlement, Liability Shield
Jan 3 2022 // Purdue Pharma is seeking to appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a judge’s decision to unravel its restructuring plan that would have insulated its owners from liability in civil opioid-related cases,...
