Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Global Insurance M&A Rises in 2021, Despite Pandemic Pressures: Clyde & Co. Report
Feb 15 2022 // There were 418 completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide in the insurance sector in 2021, up from 407 the previous year, according to a report published by law firm Clyde & Co. Activity was driven by a...
Washington Businesses Fined After 250 Workers Contract Virus in Same Warehouse
Feb 11 2022 // Three Washington businesses were fined after workers housed in Thurston County hotels and employed at a Lewis County distribution center got sick with COVID-19, and then walked to the hospital for help and feared they...
3 Keys to Avoiding Employment Practices Issues Related to COVID
Feb 8 2022 // Last week, the Academy of Insurance hosted a class on the EPLI (Employment Practices Liability Insurance) implications of employers’ policies related to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic response around the world...
COVID-19 Cases Are Dropping, but Many UK Employees Still Opt to Work From Home
Feb 8 2022 // With pandemic restrictions in the UK largely gone, offices are getting busier. Yet vast numbers of desks still remain empty. Even with COVID-19 case numbers flat or falling in the UK, U.S. and much of Europe, many...
Idaho Coronavirus Liability Shield Extension Bill Heads to Senate
Feb 3 2022 // Legislation headed to the Idaho Senate on Monday to extend a legal shield for Idaho businesses, schools and government entities from lawsuits if someone catches COVID-19. The House voted 70-0 to approve the measure that...
UK Business Closures Jump 14% as Pandemic Takes Brutal Toll on Small Firms
Jan 27 2022 // Business closures in the UK jumped by 14% from a year ago in the fourth quarter as the coronavirus pandemic took a brutal toll. Almost every industrial group saw the number of closures rise, with the transport and storage...
Owners of High-End London Restaurants Sue AXA Over Failure to Pay COVID Claims
Jan 26 2022 // The owners of high-end London restaurants The Wolseley and The Delaunay sued AXA Insurance UK Plc for as much as 4 million pounds ($5.4 million) over its failure to pay out on claims linked to the coronavirus...
Sarah Palin’s Positive COVID Test Delays New York Times Defamation Trial
Jan 24 2022 // Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, has tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing a U.S. judge on Monday to delay her defamation trial against The New York...
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...
Kansas High Court Keeps Law Allowing COVID Lawsuits Alive
Jan 24 2022 // Kansas’ highest court ruled on Jan. 7 to keep intact a law that allows people to sue counties over mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions and obtain quick trial-court decisions. The Kansas Supreme Court...
People Should Get Back to Office, Learn to Live With Coronavirus: UK Business Minister
Jan 21 2022 // People should get back to the office to benefit from in-person collaboration because the world must learn to live with the coronavirus after a pandemic that has wiped trillions of dollars off global output, Britain’s...
COVID-19 Cases, Deaths on Rise Again at Nursing Homes
Jan 18 2022 // COVID-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too, leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members...
Businesses, Labor Take Stock After Supreme Court Tosses Biden Covid-19 Rule
Jan 18 2022 // For companies that were waiting to hear from the U.S. Supreme Court before deciding whether to require vaccinations or regular coronavirus testing for workers, the next move is up to them. Many large corporations were...
Maryland Confirms Ransomware Attack Disrupted Agency Reporting COVID-19 Data
Jan 18 2022 // The disruption of Maryland’s reporting of COVID-19 data last month was caused by a ransomware attack, state officials said Wednesday. Chip Stewart, the state’s chief information security officer, said the state...
Credit Suisse Plunged Into Chaos After Chairman Ousted for Breaching COVID Rules
Jan 17 2022 // The banker tasked with fixing Credit Suisse Group AG was ousted just nine months into the job for breaching COVID quarantine rules, throwing the Swiss financial giant into fresh turmoil as it struggles to emerge from a...
What the Supreme Court Justices Said in Blocking OSHA’s COVID-19 Workplace Rule
Jan 14 2022 // The Supreme Court yesterday blocked the Biden Administration from implementing an order requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccines or testing and masks for their employees. In National...
Workplace Class Action Payouts Unexpectedly Grew During Pandemic in 2021
Jan 14 2022 // The cost of settling workplace class-action lawsuits reached a record high in 2021, defying expectations that the COVID-19 pandemic would decrease the size and reduce the number of payouts, according to a new report by the...
Health Insurers Cooperating With Plan to Pay for Home COVID Tests Starting Saturday
Jan 13 2022 // Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and...
Global Life Insurers Adapt Pandemic Risk Models After Unexpected Jump in Claims
Jan 13 2022 // A coronavirus pandemic which lasts five years, another pandemic in a decade, and ever more transmissible variants are among the scenarios life insurers are predicting after COVID-19 claims jumped more than expected in...
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...
