Sams is editor of ClaimsJournal.com, the online resource and daily newsletter for property/casualty insurance claims professionals. ClaimsJournal is a member of the Wells Media Group. Sams can be reached at jsams@wellsmedia.com
October 16, 2020
The frequency of hospital professional liability claims is holding steady, but the cost of those claims is expected to increase by 3% next year, according to an actuarial analysis by Aon and the American Society of Health Care Risk Management. …
October 14, 2020
The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that Allstate must pay $25,000 in uninsured motorist benefits to the estranged husband of a woman who died while riding as a passenger in a car crash after moving back in with her parents. …
October 8, 2020
Claims errors continue to be the most frequent reason that property/casualty insurers are cited by regulators when responding to market conduct complaints or during routine examinations, according to a report by Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. Kathy Donovan, lead researcher for …
October 5, 2020
Insurers have succeeded in dismissing COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuits in 17 out of 23 cases heard so far, with a growing number of judges finding that some tangible alteration of a property is required to trigger coverage under commercial property policies. …
October 5, 2020
A federal judge in Florida late last month denied an insurer’s petition to dismiss a COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuit, while a federal magistrate judge in California threw out a similar claim. Both lawsuits were filed by plaintiffs whose policies excluded coverage …
October 5, 2020
A Houston plaintiff’s attorney defeated State Farm Lloyd’s for the fourth time on the same issue, this time coming away with a federal appellate court ruling that policyholders don’t have to prove that their insurer acted in bad faith in …
September 28, 2020
Liability claims that involve nurses cost an average of $210,513 if a large indemnity payment is made, but even claims that are dropped, defeated or dismissed end up costing more than $20,000, according to a report released by CNA and …
September 22, 2020
A Houston plaintiff’s attorney defeated State Farm Lloyd’s for the fourth time on the same issue, this time coming away with a federal appellate court ruling that policyholders don’t have to prove that their insurer acted in bad faith in …
September 21, 2020
Some commercial property owners whose businesses were torched by rioters are learning that they don’t have enough insurance to clear away the debris. Many property owners in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area purchased policies that limit payouts for demolition costs to …
September 9, 2020
Another federal court has dismissed a COVID-19 business interruption lawsuit, finding that a closure order does not constitute a covered “direct physical loss” and that the policy excluded damages caused by viruses anyway. The ruling by the U.S. District Court …