Latest Liability Headlines
All the headlines from our Liability Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mom Not Liable in Son’s Crash of Family Car, Florida Supreme Court Says
Nov 17 2023 // Florida families and their auto insurers can rest a little easier after the state Supreme Court decided Thursday that a mom cannot be held vicariously liable for an accident caused by her son who had borrowed the family...
Florida Officials Pause Plan to Disband Pro-Palestinian Student Groups, Citing Liability
Nov 15 2023 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A plan to prohibit a pro-Palestinian student group from state university campuses in Florida has been temporarily shelved while officials reassess the proposal. State University System Chancellor...
WV High Court: Liability Coverage Due for Latent Disease, Even Years After Policy Dates
Nov 13 2023 // Liability insurers that write in West Virginia and beyond received some unsettling and expensive news from the state Supreme Court last week: Without iron-clad policy language barring coverage, long-tail illness claims...
Two-Thirds of North America Could Face Power Shortages This Winter
Nov 9 2023 // More than half of the U.S. and parts of Canada, home to around 180 million people, could fall short of electricity during extreme cold again this winter due to lacking natural gas infrastructure, the North American...
Markets/Coverages: SURE Brings Commercial Coverage to South Carolina
Nov 8 2023 // SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (SURE), a policyholder-owned coastal insurer, in partnership with SageSure, a large managing general underwriters focused on catastrophe-exposed markets, has announced its...
UK Weighs Criminal Liability for Self-Driving Car Companies
Nov 7 2023 // Self-driving car companies could face criminal action in the UK if their vehicles fail to meet safety standards in the most serious cases. New legislation, introduced in today’s speech by King Charles III, who...
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Escape Clause in Progressive Auto Liability Policy
Nov 6 2023 // Acuity and Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. disputed who should pay after a 16-year-old boy borrowed a friend’s car and crashed it into a utility pole in Streetsboro, Ohio. The driver was insured by Acuity through...
Trucking in Transition: Sector Faces Decline in Demand, Rising Costs and Changing Insurance Markets
Nov 6 2023 // The transportation market is experiencing lower freight rates and excess capacity as fewer loads are shipped with demand for goods down from its pandemic-era peak. The trucking sector in particular is encountering...
Commercial Auto Up Against Persistent Headwinds to Underwriting Profit: AM Best Report
Nov 6 2023 // Underwriting losses in U.S. commercial auto have returned to pre-pandemic levels and rate increases have not been enough to keep up with severity trends. “The liability component has been more problematic than the...
Australian Companies Face New Liability for Nature-Based Risks
Nov 2 2023 // Australian companies and directors could face legal action if they fail to identify and account for nature-based risks, according to a new opinion backed by lawyers and environmental groups, released Thursday. Directors...
Delivery Worker’s PTSD Claim Against Five Guys and Maintenance Firm to Go to Jury
Oct 31 2023 // A food delivery worker who encountered two weapon-wielding maintenance workers surprised by his presence in a Five Guys hamburger eatery can bring negligence claims against the restaurant and the maintenance company over...
Florida Appeals Court Ruling Puts New Scrutiny on Wind Experts’ Credibility
Oct 31 2023 // Expert testimony is subject to a well-established standard set forth by the US Supreme Court 30 years ago in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharms., Inc. Under the Daubert standard, trial judges are gatekeepers of expert testimony,...
Appeals Court Upholds $12M Verdict in Fatal Keys Crash; Insurer Facing Bad-Faith Claim
Oct 27 2023 // A federal appeals court this week upheld a $12 million jury award against a gravel and waste-hauling company in a horrific highway accident that killed four Spanish women who were on vacation in the Florida Keys in...
Q3 Net Income Up 45.7% at W.R. Berkley as it Handles Unabated ‘Burn’ of Social Inflation
Oct 24 2023 // Third quarter net income at W.R. Berkley Corp. increased nearly 46% compared to the same period last year to about $334 million. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based insurer’s consolidated combined ratio for the quarter...
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Escape Clause in Progressive Auto Liability Policy
Oct 23 2023 // Acuity and Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. disputed who should pay after a 16-year-old boy borrowed a friend’s car and crashed it into a utility pole in Streetsboro, Ohio. The driver was insured by Acuity through...
Med Sterilization Company Settles Georgia Exposure Lawsuits for $35 Million
Oct 23 2023 // ATLANTA (AP) — A medical sterilization company has agreed to settle nearly 80 lawsuits alleging people were exposed to a cancer-causing chemical, ethylene oxide, emitted from its plant outside of Atlanta. Details of...
People Moves: Lockton Taps Aon Veteran Guffanti as Head of Continental Europe; Markel Australia Appoints Rogers From AXA XL as Head of Queensland
Oct 19 2023 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Lockton in London and Markel Australia. A summary of these new hires follows here. Lockton Taps Aon Veteran Guffanti as Head of Continental Europe Lockton,...
People Moves: Prime Names Schlueter SVP, Healthcare Professional Liability; Alliant Adds Hansen to Minneapolis Benefits Team
Oct 19 2023 // Prime Insurance Company Names Schlueter SVP, Healthcare Professional Liability Prime Insurance Company, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., named Bart Schlueter as senior vice president and head of healthcare professional...
J&J Weighs Third Bankruptcy Try to Settle Baby Powder Suits
Oct 19 2023 // Johnson & Johnson said it is weighing a third attempt to use bankruptcy for an $8.9 billion settlement of tens of thousands of lawsuits that allege tainted talc in the company’s baby powder caused cancer. Erik...
Asleep at Wheel: When a Medical Emergency Does Not Negate a Driver’s Negligence
Oct 19 2023 // A driver who suffers a sudden medical emergency and crashes into another vehicle may be held liable for the accident even if never diagnosed with the condition or never advised not to drive. If the driver knew or should...
