Coronavirus News

Expansion of Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19 in 6 States Created Narrow Benefit

While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a sliver of the workforce, new research …

Cost of Postponing Tokyo Olympics Could Reach $2.8 Billion

TOKYO – The cost of the postponement for the Tokyo Olympics could reach about $2.8 billion, according to figures released Friday [Dec. 4] by the Tokyo organizing committee, the Tokyo city government and Japan’s national government. The numbers are in …

Cathay Pacific Collaborates with AXA to Provide Free COVID-19 Insurance to Passengers

Cathay Pacific is collaborating with AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Ltd. to provide free COVID-19 coverage to all passengers. Customers who fly with Cathay Pacific from Dec. 7 to Feb. 28, 2021 will be covered for medical expenses related to …

SEC Fines Cheesecake Factory for Misleading Disclosures About COVID Financial Impact

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has settled charges against The Cheesecake Factory Inc. for misleading disclosures about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations and financial condition. The SEC said the action is its first …

Momentum Is Building for Pre-Flight COVID-19 Airport Testing

Even as the race to approve and distribute COVID-19 vaccines is entering its final stretch, parts of the travel industry are sprinting to a different finish line: airport testing. In hubs large and small, from JFK to Boston to Frankfurt, …

Germany Extends $37B Backstop for Credit Insurers to Keep Pandemic Trade Flowing

Germany agreed to extend a backstop for commercial credit insurers by six months to keep trade flowing and prevent bankruptcies as the economy is hit by a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Under the deal, which still requires a …

IBM Warns COVID Vaccine ‘Cold Chain’ Process Has Been Targeted by Hackers

IBM is sounding the alarm over hackers targeting companies critical to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, a sign that digital spies are turning their attention to the complex logistical work involved in inoculating the world’s population against the novel coronavirus. …

Insuring Cannabis Summit: Newly Legal States Could Yield $6B in Next 5 Years

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles based on panels and presentations during Insurance Journal’s 2020 Insuring Cannabis Summit on Nov. 19. There’s big money, and big opportunity for cannabis service and product providers, such as insurance …

California Wants Hospitals to Test All Workers for Virus

California has asked hospitals to ramp up their coronavirus testing amid a surge of new cases, urging them to test health care workers at least once per week while testing all new patients before admitting them. California reported 7,787 confirmed …

Pennsylvania Governor Strikes Down Bill That Would Have Limited COVID-19 Lawsuits

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has vetoed a bill that would have expanded liability protection against COVID-19-related lawsuits for various businesses and entities in the state as they continue to grapple with coronavirus restrictions. House Bill 1737 was initially introduced by …