News for May 2021

• Employees Sue Texas Hospital Network to Halt Vaccine Mandate
• 5 More Plead Guilty in New Orleans Staged Truck Accident Cases
• AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of First American Property & Casualty and First American Specialty
• CWCI: California Workers’ Comp Direct Written Premium Fell 11.4% in 2020
• Big Oil May Face More Climate Lawsuits After Shell Ruling, Say Lawyers, Activists
• People Moves: WTW’s Hegelbach to Newly Created Renewable Energy Role at Howden; Browne Is Division President, Consumer Lines, APAC, for Chubb
• Lawsuit Accuses Washington Pizza Chain of Underpaying Delivery Drivers
• French Regulator Dismisses Covéa Market Abuse Charges Filed Against SCOR’s Kessler
• PG&E to Pay $150M for Botched Outages, California Wildfires
• Robinhood Cannot Block Massachusetts Securities Regulators’ Case, Judge Rules
• Inspector General Finds Trump EPA Officials Improperly Influenced Dicamba Approval
• Pennsylvania Drops Legal Action Against Restaurants Over Pandemic
• New Hampshire Sex Abuse Class-Action Suit Tossed, Individual Claims Stand
• Woman in Racist Central Park Confrontation Sues Employer Over Firing
• Internet Groups’ Lawsuit Claims Florida Social Media Law Is Unconstitutional
• Attorney Dershowitz Files $80 Million Defamation Suit Against Netflix
• India Oil Giant Under Fire for Offshore Disaster During Cyclone Tauktae
• Cyber Insurers Seeing Surge in Interest by Energy Companies Since Pipeline Attack
• Australia Weighs Capping Fees for Litigation Funders, Lawyers as Class Actions Surge
• COVID Takes Big Bite from Multiline Insurers’ Earnings, in ‘Manageable’ Event: S&P
• Ford Halts Production at Southern India Plant as COVID-19 Cases Surge
• Suez Canal Blames Container Ship’s Grounding on Its High Speed, Size of Rudder
• Experts Say Texas Is Missing Chance to Avert Deadly Blackouts
• Texas Asks Feds for $750M More in Harvey Relief Funds
• Critics Decry New North Dakota Asbestos Law; Urge Screenings
• Internet Groups Warn Against Including Liability Shield in Trade Deals
• New Insurtech Advisor Insurance to Target Risks of Wealth Managers
• Nashville Apartment Fire Destroys 18 Units
• 3K Alabama Homes Now Strengthened to IBHS FORTIFIED Standards
• USAA to Open Office in Charlotte, N.C., Add Hundreds of Workers
• South Dakota Voters Passed Medical Pot, but Docs Hesitant
• Car Crashes Through Roof of Missouri Home but No One Injured
• Wild Well Catches Fire in Louisiana; Workers Injured
• PG&E to Pay $43.4M in 3 California Counties Burned by Fraying Grid
• AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for Anchor General in California
• Michigan Companies Cited After Worker Deaths at Ohio Power Plant
• State Police: Traffic Crash Fatalities in Michigan Up in 2020
• Tighter Towing Regulations Approved for Chicago
• Revised Oklahoma Cybercrime Bill Sent to Governor
• Mississippi Residents Call for Special Session on Medical Marijuana at Capitol Protest
• 4 Killed in Florida Firefighting Helicopter Crash
• AM Best: Florida’s Property Insurance Market Hit 5-Year Financial Low in 2020
• Texas Nurse Practitioner Gets 20 Years, Must Pay Over $52M in Healthcare Fraud Case
• Italian Police Arrest 3 People After Funicular Disaster Kills 14
• Cyber Insurers Hike Rates But Worry About Pricing Long-Term As Losses Mount: Fitch
• Penn. Court Says Tavern Entitled to Business Income Coverage for COVID-19 Losses
• New U.S. Rules Require Pipelines to Report Cyber Incidents, Mitigate Risks
• BMS Launches Operations in Turkey, Hires Executive Team
• Residents Debate Reopening of Car-Free San Francisco Streets
• Ag Groups Upset with Washington Governor for Farm Worker Rules
• Lloyd’s, London Insurers Form Joint Venture with DXC to Transform Digital Processing
• Lawsuit Dismissed in Death of Woman Buried in Maryland Beach Sand
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Now Hold Fate of Regulations Waived Amid Pandemic
• Bayer Unveils New Roundup Risk Management Plan After $2B Proposal Fails
• Suez Canal Authority Is Open to Further Talks with Owners of Seized Container Ship
• Ardonagh Group Agrees to Purchase BGC’s Insurance Business for $500 Million
• Rising Global Temperatures Move Closer to Climate Change Tipping Point: U.N. Report
• Shell Loses Landmark Climate Case in Ruling with Global Implications for Big Oil
• Chubb Updates Lower Middle Market Commercial Package Product
• After Dutch Ruling Against Energy Company, Focus Turns to U.S. Climate Lawsuits
• People Moves: Island Insurance Names Kuioka COO, The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Adds Newman in California
• Judge Rejects Bayer’s $2 Billion Proposal to End Roundup Litigation
• Northwestern Oklahoma Shaken by Preliminary Mag 4.5 Quake
• The Liberty Company Acquires Assets of Gray-Stone & Co. in California
• Texas Seeking Insurer Data on Catastrophe Experience in 2020
• Atlanta Insurance Agents Look to Expand Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Through Coalition
• Congress Studying Federal Reinsurance for Cyberterrorist Attacks
• People Moves: Ex-NewRe Executive Cussigh to Peak Re in Zurich; Key Changes at Euler Hermes; Daley Promoted at Sedgwick Australia
• People Moves: MJ Insurance Adds O’Dell, Becker; Ex-Brit America’s Davies Joins Agman
• Assaulted by Passenger, Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Loses 2 Teeth
• Tornado Damages Buildings in Northwest Kansas Town
• Michigan Doctor Charged with Felony Insurance Fraud
• Renault-Nissan Shuts South India Plant Until May 30 on COVID Safety Concerns
• Fire Displaces 50 People from Delaware Apartment Complex
• Phase One of Autonomous Corridor Project Begins in Maryland City
• U.S. Says Rules on Pilots’ Records Database Being Finalized
• Maine Lawmaker Sued Over Trees Cut Down on Neighbors’ Land
• People Moves: Embroker Names 2 Execs; Markel Promotes Castriotta; Kaufmann, McPhail Join WTW; Laufer, Pignataro to AGS Executive Team
• Ex-UCLA Doctor Indicted on 21 Sexual Abuse Counts
• Technology Upgrades Follow Cyberattack on Alaska Courts
• California Seeing More Wildfires as Drought Intensifies
• Storm Surges Inundate Villages in Eastern India as Cyclone Yaas Moves Inland
• Alabama Prohibits Businesses, Agencies From Requiring Vaccine Passports
• Many Workers Begin to Return to Offices Transformed by COVID Safety Innovations
• How 3D Technology is Deepening Claims Efficiency in Insurance
• D&O Specialist MGA, Rising Edge, Launches with 4 Senior Appointments
• Biden Administration Working to Boost Cybersecurity of Pipeline Companies
• Finland’s Sampo Sells $1.7B Stake in Nordea Bank, as It Moves Ahead with Planned Exit
• Ransomware Attack Still Disrupting IT Systems of New Zealand Hospitals
• HSB Adds Coverages for Smart Farm Technology, Equipment
• Investigators Seek Cause of House Boat Explosion on Tennessee River
• People Moves: The Plexus Groupe Adds Stollenwerck as VP; New Leadership at ANCO Insurance
• USDA: February Storms Created Ag Disaster Area in Louisiana Parish
• Despite Safety Questions, Tesla Sticks With Autopilot Cameras Without Radar Sensor
• Wolves Get Credit for 24% Drop in Deer-Auto Collisions
• Western U.S. Wildfires Have Made Insurance for Contractors a Tough Buy
• Florida High Court Adopts Federal Summary Judgment Standard with Amendment
• How to Manage Social Media Liability in the Workplace: RIMS
• Fire Site in UP Michigan Town Being Treated as a Crime Scene
• It Doesn’t Take a Hurricane to Cause a Flood
• People Moves: Hub Hires Howard; Prime to Starkweather & Shepley; The Hilb Group Adds Grant
• Worker Falls to Death at Queens Building Under Construction
• California Aiming to Ease Virus Rules for Workers in Mid-June
• Earthquake Hits Beneath South Flank of Hawaii Volcano
• Swedish Tech Start-up Haidrun Launches Blockchain Platform Targeted at Re/Insurers
• To Protect a Community from Climate Change, New York is Elevating a Park
• People Moves: AFL’s Ralf to Ballantyne; Arab Insurance Group’s Albaharna to Trust Re; Hunt Promoted at Chaucer as Lines Plans to Retire
• Insurance Technology: Vertafore Unleashes Analytics for Agencies; MGA Mile Auto Raises $10.3M, Partners With Ford
• Crypto Insurer Evertas Raises $5.8M in Seed Funding
• Impending Dutch Court Decision to Test Shell’s Responsibility for Climate Change
• Generali Opens Representative Office in Brussels to Build Access to EU Decision-Makers
• Renault-Nissan, Hyundai Face Factory Closures in India over Workers’ COVID-19 Fears
• Industry Veteran Charman to Retire from Sompo Int’l, Succeeded by Zurich’s Shea
• Homeowner Seeks $5M in Lawsuit Over ‘Rotten Egg’ Smell from S.C. Mill
• Louisville Welcomes Justice Dept. Investigation of City’s Policing
• Judge Rejects State’s Argument in South Dakota Sinkhole Case
• Iowa DHS Employee Awarded $790K in Sex Harassment Suit
• Texas Rehab Center to Pay $146.6K to Settle Pregnancy Discrimination Suit
• Ban on Handheld Phone Use While Driving Passes Louisiana House
• Owners Will Rebuild Iowa Grain Elevator Following Explosion
• Three Disasters Show Gaps in Infrastructure Plan
• White House Boosts Spending for Disaster, Extreme Weather Preparations
• Former Washington Logger Charged in Nearly $300K Workers’ Comp Scam
• The Highs, Low of Agency Q1 Profitability and the Post-Pandemic Path Forward: Reagan
• Online Boating Marketplace Boatim Adds Insurance with Marine Broker Partner AMI
• Cal/OSHA Cites Foster Farms, Staffing Agencies for COVID-19 Violations
• California’s Harsh EPLI Landscape Made Worse by COVID
• Egypt Court Rejects Appeal to Release Giant Container Ship Seized by Suez Authority
• Tennessee Insurance Data Security Law to Take Effect July 1
• Study: North Dakota Has Highest Rate of Severe Workplace Injuries
• $41M Recovered for Louisiana Consumers After Hurricane Claims Complaints
• People Moves: Deloitte’s McIlquham to Acrisure; UIB’s Kassali to Willis Re; Peak Re’s Cheng to Acacia, Scope to Corant
• Oregon Among Blue States Slow to Lift Virus Restrictions
• Family Sues After Police in Hawaii over Fatal Shooting of 16-Year-Old
• 15 Military Families in Washington Sue Private Company Over Housing Conditions
• Africa Specialty Risks Launches Parametric Underwriting Division
• Truist Acquires Constellation Affiliated Partners Wholesaler Platform With 7 MGAs
• Air India’s February Data Breach Affected 4.5 Million Passengers
• Barclays Dragged into Bitter Feud Between SCOR and Covéa over Failed Hostile Takeover
• Utica National Adds Crisis Response Services for Educational Institution Insureds
• India Braces for Second Severe Cyclone in 10 Days
• Bank of England Plans to Nudge Companies to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Hack of Leading Japanese Dating App Could Expose Personal Data of 2 Million Users
• Delaware Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in $2M Fraud Plot
• Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced to Jail for Filing False Auto Insurance Claims
• Vermont Law Restricts Sale of Products Containing PFAS
• Beneath the Surface: Why Insurers Should Look Beyond “the Tip of the A.I. Iceberg”
• Relaxed Mask Rules Make Some Retail Workers Nervous
• Debate Over Liability Holds Up Self-Driving Car Legislation in Senate
• Two Takeaways from Delta-8 Conversation
• People Moves: Hapworth to Lead Amwins’ AEU; Former NFLer Ayodele Joins Spoznik Agency; Century Risk Advisors Adds Sawyer
• Tennessee Opening 3 Recovery Centers for People Dealing with March Floods
• 2 Atlanta Warehouses Damaged by Fire, Nearby Apartment Building Saved
• Houston Area to Get little of $1B in Federal Harvey Flood Aid
• Michigan Property Owners Win Key Court Ruling in Failed Dams Lawsuit
• Deck Collapse at Ohio Home During Party Leaves 4 Hospitalized
• Louisiana Sets Up $30M Buyout Program for Flood-Prone Lake Charles Neighborhood
• Security Shutdown Stops Hack of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Computer System
• Wisconsin Court Rejects Man’s Suit Against Insurer After Bull Attack
• Tropical Storm Ana Begins Expected Above-Normal 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season
• Washington Issues New Workplace Masking Guidelines
• Texas Senate Passes Commercial Auto Tort Reform Bill
• FBL Financial Shareholders OK Stock Purchase by Farm Bureau P&C Insurance
• After Breaches, Michigan Lawmakers Propose $500M to Repair Dams
• Pilot Failed to Control Plane in Texas Crash That Killed 10: NTSB
• Mississippi City Receives $492K Federal Grant to Map Contaminated Sites
• People Moves: Virtus Adds Ferworn as VP; Williams now President at Combined Insurance; POWERS Insurance Hires Weiler
• Florida Construction Co. Owner Arrested for Evading Payment of Workers’ Comp Premium
• Tennessee Dept. of Insurance Enables Remote Testing for Insurance Producers
• CNA Paid $40 Million in Ransom After March Cyber Attack
• Black Media Mogul Allen Alleges Advertising Bias in Suing McDonald’s for $10 Billion
• Hawaii Can Expect 2 to 5 Storms During Hurricane Season
• Alaska Health Website Targeted in Malware Attack
• Washington Creates New Farmworker Safety Team
• AM Best Revises Outlook to Stable for Topa in California
• People Moves: Lockton Transactional Team; Marsh Counsel; Kemper Chairman; BMS Re CFO; AgriSompo North America
• Canada Faces Mega-Hurricanes if Climate Change Pushes Storms North: Swiss Re Warns
• Irish Health Service Hackers Offer Decryption Key – but $20M Ransom Demand Remains
• Biden Executive Order Initiates Broad Strategy to Assess, Mitigate Climate Change Risks
• Africa Specialty Risks Launches Mauritius Reinsurer, Backed by PE Firm Helios
• Waffle Raises $5M for Its ‘All-in-One’ Virtual Insurance Agency
• Louisiana, Texas Brace for More Heavy Rain and Flooding
• Italy Probes Alleged Cartel Among Auto Insurers, Including Allianz Direct, Zurich
• Student Blamed for Cyber Attack on Massachusetts School’s Network
• Staffers Allege that Employer Ignored COVID Precautions in Massachusetts
• As One New Jersey Forest Fire is Contained, a Second Starts
• Australia Bushfire Funding ‘Welcome’ but Insurance Tax Rise ‘Unsustainable’: ICA
• Europe’s Aviation Regulator Says Flying Taxis Could Be Airborne by 2024 or 2025
• Lumen Risk Services, Transverse to Offer Commercial Property Coverage
• 5 Women File Employment Discrimination Suits Against Amazon.com
• Report: $8.1B of Sandy’s Damages Attributable to Climate Change
• Judge in $2B Roundup Settlement Recommends Bayer Add a Warning Label
• Study Shows How Recreational Cannabis Legalization May Change Illegal Drug Markets
• Outlooks Revised to Positive for Workers’ Comp Insurer Stonetrust
• Anderson Benson of Tenn. Appointed Lloyd’s Coverholder for Media Liability E&O Program
• Unrelenting Rain Prolongs Misery in South Central States
• Iowa’s Ramsey-Weeks Insurance Merges with First Mainstreet
• Businesses Should Expect More Product Recalls, Regulations After Covid: Sedgwick
• People Moves: WTW’s Harvey to Acrisure Re; Fidelis’ Clapham to IGI; AXA XL’s Paeßens to Liberty Specialty Markets; Leggett Is CEO of Sedgwick Ireland
• Former Oregon City Employee Files Termination Suit
• California Restaurants Expect Rebound That Will Take Years
• Insurance Development Forum Launches Project to Build Colombian Climate Resilience
• Fed Warns Credit Scores ‘May Lose Some Power’ After Covid
• Lawsuits Over University of Delaware COVID-19 Shutdown Can Proceed
• Ex-Gynecologist in Virginia Gets 59 Years on Fraud Conviction
• Element Risk Management Acquires Pennsylvania’s Smith Insurance
• Insurer Aviva Will Close 3 UK Property Funds Hit by Pandemic Economic Turmoil
• ‘Cat-Prone’ Startup Kin Insurance in Talks to Go Public With ‘Shark Tank’ Judge’s SPAC
• Square Pegs Becomes Castel Underwriting Cell, Offering Cover for Complex SME Risks
• UK Pushes G-7 Countries to Adopt Mandatory Climate Reporting for Big Companies
• Trial Operations of Flying Taxis, Cargo Drones Will Begin in England This Year
• London’s ‘Golden Age’ as Europe’s Financial Center Has Ended: NatWest Chair
• Irish Patient Data May Have Been Posted on Dark Web After Cyber Attack: Minister Says
• Arrowhead Launches E&S Program, Names Murray as President
• Louisiana Private Flood Insurance Bill Returned to House from Senate
• Environmental Groups Sue Feds Over W. Virginia Mine Reclamation Program
• People Moves: CAC Specialty in Colorado Adds Lynch, Lockton Pacific Adds Lupe in California
• Climate Change Caused $8 Billion of Hurricane Sandy’s Economic Losses: Study
• Suit Claims Owners Drove Brooks Brothers to Bankruptcy to Avoid Paying Investor
• Insurance Comparison Site Jerry Raises $28 Million
• Medical Marijuana Now Legal in Alabama After Decades of Debate
• Nebraska Lawmakers Say ‘No’ to Mandated Virus Protections for Meat Workers
• NTSB: Louisiana Offshore Lift Boat Flipped While Lowering Legs, Turning
• $4.8M Judgment in Labor Trafficking Case Against Maui Pineapple
• Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Garner & Glover Co. of Georgia
• Dubuque, Iowa, to Pay $1.8M to Settle Police Discrimination Suit
• After Miss. Supreme Court Ruling, Lawmakers Look to Revive Marijuana Program
• Gov. Signs Oklahoma Bill Expanding High School Apprenticeship Programs
• Timing of Young Driver Learner’s Permit Cut in Half Under North Carolina Bill
• New Oklahoma Law Exempts Local Delivery Services from Trucking Industry Regs
• Heavy Rains Flood Homes, Cars in South Louisiana
• People Moves: Howden’s Rahmita Price to Ed Asia; 3 Price Forbes Hires; WTW’s Pires to NFP; Tres to Carpenter; PwC’s Eastman to Specialist Risk Group
• Alaska Governor Declares Disaster Following Flooding
• Severe Water Crisis on Oregon-California Border to Impact Agriculture
• Crews Make Progress Against Los Angeles Wildfire
• Newfront Acquires Aviation Marine Insurance in California
• Organizations Miss Competitive Advantage by Underemphasizing Emerging Risks: Marsh
• USAA Expands Telematics Auto Insurance App SafePilot to 7 More States
• Brooklyn Landlord Charged in Deadly Fire Started by Space Heater
• Explosion Damages New Hampshire House Under Construction, Worker Burned
• Several Injured in Gas Explosion in Baltimore County
• Howden Acquires UK Specialist Broker Medical Professional Risk Solutions (MPRS)
• Metromile, Hippo Begin Offering Bundled Auto, Home Coverages in 8 States
• India Continues Rescue Operations After Powerful Cyclone Tauktae Batters Region
• Ransomware Attacks Hit AXA’s Asia Units, New Zealand Health Provider
• Construction Firm Grupo Carso Faces Probe After Collapse of Mexico City Railway Line
• March Storm in Eastern Canada Cost Insurers C$50 Million
• Alera Group Acquires Direct Benefits in Minnesota
• Hasner, Knight, Telemaco Join Board of Citizens Property Insurance
• ISC Launches General Liability Program for Gig Economy Contractors
• Dozens More Sue Ohio State over Doc’s Alleged Sex Abuse, Misconduct
• Conduent to Pay $395K in Back Wages to Settle Oklahoma Discrimination Case
• Attorney: Michigan Flood Victims May Have to Wait for Accountability
• Amazon Continues Moratorium on Police Use of Its Facial Recognition Software
• 5 Ways Cyber Business Interruption Differs from Traditional Business Interruption: RIMS
• Judge Has Questions About Bayer’s $2 Billion Roundup Settlement
• Texas Commercial Vehicle Crash Liability Bill Advances in Senate
• G2 Insurance Services Acquires Assets of Ohio’s Schroeder Group
• Texas Manufacturer Fined $558.8K for Workplace Safety Violations
• State of Emergency in SW Louisiana as Severe Weather Continues
• Southern California City Agrees to Settle Suit Against Bloggers for $350K
• California Regulator Reviewing Tesla’s Self-Driving Claims
• People Moves: Lockton Hires Haraden, MLMIC Names Schoppmann CEO
• Forest Fire Consumes Hundreds of Acres in Southern New Jersey
• Labor Leader Urges U.S. to Require Human Drivers in Automated Vehicles
• Parties in Connecticut Class-Action Lead Suit to Give Settlement Details
• People Moves: Metromile Adds Capital One Exec; Spinnaker Names CEO From USAA; Carpenter’s Snyder Joins TigerRisk
• What 3 Experts Are Saying About Pipeline Attack and Cyber Insurance
• Cyclone Sinks Barge Operated by India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp., Hundreds Rescued
• Warming Arctic Permafrost Will Make It Harder to Curb Climate Change: Study
• Medical Protection Society Receives Approval to Form Full Lloyd’s Syndicate
• Howden’s Data, Digital and Analytics’ Division, HX, Launches in Asia
• Lawsuit Filed by Business Over Mississippi City’s COVID Restrictions Dismissed
• CFC Reps & Warranty Product Supports Transatlantic Mergers, Acquisitions
• Rousseau to Replace Kessler as CEO of SCOR, in Change to Succession Plan
• Nearly 800 Residents to Sue Wisconsin City Over PFAS Contamination
• New Civil Trial Ordered in 2015 N.D. Crash that Brought $1B Jury Award
• Uber Can’t Avoid Driver Classification Lawsuit, Says Supreme Court
• Retired Black Players Fight NFL Brain Injury Payout Algorithm Based on Race
• People Moves: Midwestern Insurance Alliance Adds Young in California, Crest Adds Holt in Colorado
• Supreme Court Backs Energy Firms Against Baltimore on Legal Issue in Climate Case
• The Potential Liabilities for Cities, Insurers from Florida’s New ‘Anti-Riot’ Law
• People Moves: Security First Names Lockhart CFO; Freeland Joins Alliant in Tenn.; SIU Adds Hayes Everett in Georgia
• Iowa Town Evacuated After Fiery Train Derailment
• Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Takes Big Stake in Aon
• InterWest Opens New Nevada Office, Acquires Aegis in California
• Louisiana ‘Justice Lab’ Aims to Expose, Litigate Claims of Police Bias
• Missouri Passes Bill Shielding Businesses from COVID-19 Liability
• Louisiana Crawfish Processor Sued Over Low Wages, Overtime Pay
• Emerson Reid Acquires Ohio’s May Insurance Services
• Michigan Man Must Pay Nearly $775K Restitution in Insurance Fraud Case
• Supreme Court Backs Challenge to IRS Micro-Captive Reporting Rule
• People Moves: Hannover Re’s Bruns to Peak Re; AIG’s Nagra to BHSI; 4 Mosaic Hires
• Law Firms and Their Insurers Feel the Pain of Bigger Malpractice Claims
• 1K Los Angeles Residents Ordered to Evacuate in Wildfire
• California Crash Victim Posted Videos Riding in Tesla on Autopilot
• Oregon Landowner Suit Seeks $103M from Public Utilities for Wildfire
• Ex-Bank Official in Massachusetts Gets Year in Prison for $1.5M Embezzlement
• Meetings to Be Held on Status of PFAS Chemicals in New Hampshire Communities
• Update: Severe Cyclone Tauktae Slams India’s West Coast

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