Latest Claims Headlines

All the headlines from our Claims Topic Page, ordered by recency.

WCRI: Workers’ Comp Medical Payments in Minnesota Stable

Nov 6 2019 // Minnesota workers’ compensation medical payments per claim remained stable from 2012 to 2017, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study, CompScope Medical Benchmarks...

PG&E Extending Deadline for California Wildfire Damage Claims

Nov 6 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to extend by two months the deadline to file claims against the company for damages suffered from a series of wildfires in California. Lawyers for the victims asked to extend the...

Ergonomic Tracking Helps Cut Workers Comp Claims but Privacy Concerns Remain

Nov 6 2019 // Every morning when he goes to work in the freezer room of a warehouse in eastern Pennsylvania, Jack Westley throws on a hooded sweatshirt to keep warm and grabs a radio to talk to his coworkers. He was recently given a new...

BHSI Taps Villalba from Zurich Insurance as Head of Claims in Spain

Nov 4 2019 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced it has named Javier Villalba to its expanding leadership team in Spain as head of Claims. Villalba comes to BHSI with nearly 20 years of claims experience. He was...

Agency E&O: Risk Rises Along with Rates, Cats and Customer Switching

Nov 4 2019 // Agency errors and omissions (E&O) coverage is likely the most important insurance policy an agency purchases. As customer demands rise to an all-time high, having the right E&O coverage and ensuring best practices...

Resolving Claim Disputes: Step 3 Research and Document the Interpretation – Part 3 of 3

Nov 4 2019 // In the past two columns, we examined eight legal and contractual principles nonlawyers can use to resolve most claim disputes without litigation. In this month’s column, we’ll wrap up this discussion with nine...

States Vary Widely in How They Control Workers’ Comp Medical Costs: WCRI

Nov 4 2019 // Workers’ compensation medical costs vary widely among the states both in terms of price and how often services are used. The differences appear to relate closely to which cost-drivers each state legislature tried to...

A Quick Introduction to Occurrence vs. Claims-Made Forms

Oct 30 2019 // We received this question recently. I have inherited an account where the primary CGL was written on an occurrence form and the excess liability was written on a claims-made form. Can you help explain why this isn’t...

PG&E Open to Extending California Wildfire Victim Claims Deadline

Oct 29 2019 // PG&E Corp. told a judge it’s willing to extend the deadline for victims of wildfires caused by the utility’s equipment to file claims in its bankruptcy. U.S. District Judge James Donato criticized the...

Insurer Group: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Costliest in Texas History

Oct 25 2019 // The nine tornadoes that hit the Dallas, Texas-area over the weekend have caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, an insurer trade group says, making it the costliest tornado loss in Texas history. The Insurance Council...

Alabama-Based CNC Hires Kattermann as SVP of Claims Operations

Oct 25 2019 // Insurance adjusting firm CNC Catastrophe & National Claims has added George Kattermann as senior vice president of Claims Operations. He joins the team with more than 30 years of experience in catastrophe claims and...

Google Denies Claims It Developed Tool to Spy on Its Employees

Oct 24 2019 // Google employees are accusing the company’s leadership of developing an internal surveillance tool that they believe will be used to monitor workers’ attempts to organize protests and discuss labor...

Ex-DuPont CEO Claims No Intent to Burden Chemours with Unlimited Liabilities

Oct 24 2019 // DuPont de Nemours Inc. never intended to saddle its spinoff Chemours Co. with “unlimited exposure” to its liabilities, DuPont’s former chief executive officer said, sending Chemours stock up...

Florida Specialty CEO Disputes State Regulator’s Claims, Says Insurer Not Insolvent

Oct 24 2019 // The head of recently shuttered Florida Specialty Insurance Co. says that claims by Florida’s insurance regulator that the company is insolvent are untrue. The company’s CEO, Susan Patschak, argues...

Reinsurers’ Earnings to Be Hit After 3rd Year of Major Claims: AM Best

Oct 23 2019 // Reinsurers’ earnings are likely to see further erosion in 2019 after another year of major catastrophe losses, which is prolonging the positive momentum for reinsurance pricing, according to AM Best. “Three...

Supreme Court Allows City, State Claims Against Energy Firms Over Climate Costs

Oct 23 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court let government officials press ahead with three lawsuits that accuse more than a dozen oil and gas companies of contributing to climate change. Without comment or published dissent, the high court...

Travelers Q3 Profit Falls on Asbestos, Commercial Liability and Auto Claims

Oct 22 2019 // The Travelers Companies reported net income of $396 million for the third quarter compared to $709 million in the prior year quarter. Core income in the current quarter was $378 million compared to $687 million in the...

States Vary Widely in How They Control Workers’ Comp Medical Costs: WCRI

Oct 21 2019 // Workers’ compensation medical costs vary widely among the states both in terms of price and how often services are used. The differences appear to relate closely to which cost-drivers each state legislature tried to...

J&J Settles Claims by 41 States Over Risks of Vaginal Mesh for $117 Million

Oct 18 2019 // Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $117 million to settle 41 states’ claims that it misrepresented the risks of vaginal-mesh products used to bolster sagging organs and treat incontinence in women. A group of state...

Florida Officials Say Insurers Not Doing Enough to Settle Hurricane Michael Claims

Oct 17 2019 // It’s been just over a year since Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, devastating the region as a Category 5 storm with 161-mph winds and causing more than $7.2 billion in estimated insured...