Latest Claims Headlines

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

Early Cannabis Insurance Claims Experience Differs from Expectations

May 29 2019 // It’s still early, but claims experience thus far in the cannabis insurance market is encouraging, according to one leading writer. “So far, we’re optimistic that we’re going to see that our...

Increasing Physician Prices Doesn’t Produce Better Results for Injured Workers

May 29 2019 // When the price of physician services increases relative to group health rates, injured workers report fewer problems getting the care they want but no significant improvement in physical function or speedier return to...

Keyless Car Crime Drives 20% Hike in UK Motor Theft Claims in 1st Quarter

May 28 2019 // The cost of UK motor theft claims paid by insurers in the first quarter rose by more 20% from the same period last year, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The ABI report revealed that the number of Q1...

WCRI: Average Total Cost of Penn. Workers’ Comp Claims Highest of Studied States

May 22 2019 // The average total cost of a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claim is among the highest of 18 states studied, with litigation costs a key driver of higher overall benefit delivery expenses, according to a recent...

AGCS Offers Crisis Management Response Services with Its Pollution Liability Cover

May 22 2019 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced it is offering expanded emergency response services as part of its Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) coverage when pollution and/or contamination events...

WCD’s Spessard Joins Beazley to Head Expanded Environmental Claims Team

May 20 2019 // Specialist insurer Beazley has hired Cal Spessard to head the team responsible for handling claims arising from the company’s environmental liability business. Spessard joins Beazley from environmental risk...

Claims Insurtech Snapsheet Raises $29 Million to Expand Into All P/C Lines and Globally

May 20 2019 // Virtual insurance claims services company Snapsheet has closed on $29 million in Series E funding. The company said it will use the funds to expand beyond auto into all lines of property/casualty insurance and expand...

Retired Players in NFL Concussion Settlement Balk at Limits on ‘Doctor Shopping’

May 20 2019 // Retired NFL players seeking testing as part of a $1 billion concussion settlement must see a doctor close to home to prevent fraud and “doctor shopping,” the federal judge overseeing the case ruled. Lawyers for...

Scooter Accidents Leading to Big Ticket Claims at Disney Parks

May 20 2019 // Early at the Magic Kingdom entrance, it’s another day of fun about to begin as “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life For Me!” blasts on the speakers and the first electric scooters are lined up to go. But...

People

May 20 2019 // National Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced that Baptiste Ossena, global product leader of Hull and Marine Liabilities (HML), is assuming additional responsibility as the North American regional head...

California Workers’ Comp Rating Bureau Chief’s Message to Comp Community

May 20 2019 // The California workers’ compensation marketplace today remains generally healthy for insurers, employers and injured workers, the chief of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California said in...

Missouri Statute Update Shields Insurers from Certain Bad Faith Litigation

May 17 2019 // In Missouri, insurance companies owe a contractual duty to defend civil actions that allege liability of their insureds that is potentially covered under the terms of the subject insurance policy. As part of that duty, the...

Insurers Face Higher Claims from Severe Convective Storms in Germany

May 16 2019 // Swimmers at the Lusshardtsee lake about 60 miles south of Frankfurt in Germany thought they’d found respite from the blazing sun one Sunday afternoon last summer. Unknown to them, however, sweltering ground...

Georgia Insurance Regulator Faces 38 Count Indictment for Defrauding Insurer; Claims Innocence

May 14 2019 // A federal grand jury has indicted Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck on 38 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and mail fraud in an alleged $2 million scheme to defraud the Georgia Underwriting Association (GUA),...

Insurance Department: Claims from Deadly California Wildfires Top $12B

May 9 2019 // Insurance claims have topped $12 billion for the November wildfires in California, making them the most expensive in state history. The figure released on May 8 by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara covers the fire that...

Munich Re’s Q1 Profit Drops 23.5% on Higher Claims Payments from Previous Years

May 8 2019 // German reinsurer Munich Re reported a 23.5 percent decrease in its first quarter net profit to €633 million ($708.6 million) from €827 million ($925.7 million) in Q1 2018. The world’s largest reinsurer blamed the...

Iowa Court: No Claim for Workers’ Comp Insurer’s Failure to Inspect Workplace

May 8 2019 // Iowa’s high court has ruled in favor of a workers’ compensation insurer in a case in which a group of employees and former employees of a manufacturing plant alleged that the insurer failed to protect workers...

Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes: Advocacy

May 6 2019 // In the past two columns, we’ve examined the importance and value of avoiding or preventing claim denials so we don’t have to deal with resolving them, especially with the specter of litigation hovering over us....

Sorry! Laws Protecting Doctors Who Apologize Don’t Lessen Litigation

May 6 2019 // Laws intended to reduce malpractice litigation by protecting doctors who want to apologize don’t work, according to a new Vanderbilt analysis of proprietary insurance data. It turns out people sue for money and an...

New Suit Filed in Indiana Against USA Gymnastics Seeks Help for Abused Athletes

May 2 2019 // A new lawsuit filed in Indiana seeks to protect potentially thousands of abused gymnasts who might not have known about a deadline for filing claims against USA Gymnastics in the embattled group’s ongoing...