Latest COVID-19 Headlines
All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers at North Dakota Company Go on Strike over COVID-19 Safety Concerns
Nov 19 2020 // About 70 drivers and warehouse workers at a Fargo, N.D., food distributor have gone on strike because they don’t believe the company is doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19. Members of Teamsters...
Study: St. Louis Mask Mandates Cut Virus’ Spread
Nov 19 2020 // Mask mandates in St. Louis and St. Louis County slowed the spread of the coronavirus this summer when compared to neighboring counties that didn’t require face masks, a Saint Louis University study found. The study...
Pace of Broker Acquisitions Picks Up in 2nd Half, After COVID-Linked Lull in Q2
Nov 19 2020 // Insurance brokers have stepped up their acquisition pace in the second half of 2020 after a pause in the second quarter related to the coronavirus and the steep economic decline, according to a report published by...
Global COVID-19 Insurance Losses to Be Higher than Early Estimates: Lloyd’s Chairman
Nov 19 2020 // Global insurance losses from the COVID-19 pandemic will be higher this year than the $107 billion Lloyd’s of London had previously estimated, its Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said on Wednesday. Carnegie-Brown told...
Task of Tracking COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Falls to Multiple Federal Agencies
Nov 18 2020 // Monitoring Covid-19 vaccines for safety issues will fall to a group of U.S. health agencies that also will have a hand in their rollout, a potential hurdle in persuading skeptics to get the shots, say former government...
Pfizer Reports 95% Success Rate in COVID-19 Vaccine Final Trial
Nov 18 2020 // Final results from Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a 95% success rate and two months of safety data, paving the way for the drugmaker to apply for an emergency U.S. authorization within days,...
Norwegian Cruise Ship Operator SeaDream Cancels All Sailings After Virus Outbreak
Nov 18 2020 // Norwegian-owned cruise ship operator SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled all sailing for the remainder of 2020 after positive COVID-19 test results onboard one of its cruises, it said on Tuesday, dealing a fresh blow to the...
South African Insurer Santam Loses COVID-19 Business Interruption Test Case
Nov 18 2020 // A Cape Town court ordered Santam Ltd. to pay out business-interruption claims to two South African hospitality companies, potentially opening up the industry to cover losses suffered because of the coronavirus...
Insurers Using Counter-Intuitive Arguments to Escape COVID Liabilities: UK Regulator
Nov 18 2020 // Insurers are trying to escape liability for pandemic-related business losses with counter-intuitive arguments that go against the essential purpose of insurance, Britain’s markets watchdog told the UK Supreme Court...
Oklahoma Places New Restrictions on Bars, Restaurants Amid Virus Surge
Nov 17 2020 // Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants and plans to require mask wearing inside state buildings, the first state restrictions imposed since the economy reopened in May, as...
Kentucky High Court Says Governor Can Restrict Businesses in Virus Fight
Nov 17 2020 // Kentucky’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the governor’s authority to issue coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and individuals to try to contain the spread of COVID-19. The ruling delivered a...
Michigan Governor Says She Has Authority for Virus Stay-Home Order
Nov 17 2020 // Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on Nov. 16 she has the authority to issue a second stay-at-home order to curb the spiking coronavirus if necessary and called a comment by an adviser to President Donald Trump urging...
20 Farms in Washington Fined for Not Protecting Workers From COVID-19
Nov 17 2020 // Three Mid-Columbia farms are among those receiving the biggest fines in the state from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries for serious violations of agriculture regulations to prevent the spread of the...
Is the Aviation Insurance Market Ready for a COVID-19 Vaccine?
Nov 17 2020 // As the development, and possible mass production, of COVID-19 (C-19) vaccines gather speed, the transportation and logistics industry will need to turn its attention to how the product can be safely and efficiently...
Federal Reserve Raises Questions Over Life Insurers’ Risk of Coronavirus Claims
Nov 17 2020 // U.S. life insurers face questions about their ability to cover a sudden rush of claims after the Federal Reserve highlighted liquidity and leverage risks in a report this week. Issues the Fed focused on are not new: Life...
Insurers Tell UK Supreme Court They Cannot Provide Unlimited Cover During Pandemic
Nov 16 2020 // Major insurance companies told the UK Supreme Court on Monday that thousands of small companies battered by the coronavirus pandemic were not eligible for business interruption payouts and to suggest differently was...
Medical Costs of COVID Patients 50% Higher Than Before Hospitalization: German Study
Nov 16 2020 // Medical costs of German COVID-19 patients who have left hospitals are on average 50% higher than before they were admitted, data from a major insurer showed, a sign that even those who have recovered struggle to regain...
McDonald’s Plans Safety Checks of All Restaurants as COVID Cases Surge
Nov 16 2020 // McDonald’s Corp. will inspect all its U.S. restaurants to ensure compliance with safety standards as coronavirus cases surge again and “COVID fatigue” sets in, according to an internal note seen by...
COVID-19 and Workers’ Comp a Moving Target, But Some Certainties Exist for Employers
Nov 16 2020 // This year could be the most controversial rate recommendation in the 107-year history of the California workers’ compensation system. Why? Because we are dealing with a virus we’ve never experienced before. The...
Senior Living in a Post-Pandemic World
Nov 16 2020 // Property/casualty insurance for senior living facilities has taken a hit this year. The insurance market has been hardening for the last year or two, and the COVID-19 pandemic brought on a wave of new challenges that has...
