casualty insurance News

3M, DuPont Defeat Massive Class Action Over Forever Chemicals

A U.S. appeals court on Monday handed 3M, Corteva Inc subsidiary E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co and other manufacturers of toxic so-called “forever chemicals” a big win in their fight against legal liability for the substances, rejecting a …

Markets/Coverages: Canopius Expands Into US Excess Casualty Market

Canopius Group, the London-based specialty re/insurer, announced the strategic expansion of its U.S. casualty business with its entry into the domestic U.S. excess casualty market on Canopius U.S. Insurance Co. paper. Canopius said the move underscores its commitment to expanding …

Global Insurance Prices Continue to Moderate in Q2 With Exception of Property: Marsh

Global commercial insurance pricing rose 3% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 4% in Q1, according to Marsh, which pointed to two notable trends during Q2: a moderation in cyber rates and continuing challenges in property insurance, which …

Chubb’s Greenberg: Start Questioning the Societal Benefits of Litigation Funding

Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg said society and the business community need to start asking questions regarding the purpose of third-party litigation funding, a major contributor to increases in frequency and severity within casualty lines. “What social purpose does litigation funding …

Koch Industries Gets $2.5B in Dividends From Unit That Offloaded Asbestos Liability

Industrial conglomerate Koch Industries received nearly $2.5 billion in dividend payments last year from its Georgia-Pacific unit, which had spun off a subsidiary that took on its liability from asbestos litigation and then filed bankruptcy to limit lawsuit payouts, according …

How a Bankruptcy ‘Innovation’ Halted Thousands of Lawsuits from Sick Plaintiffs

Attorney Greg Gordon sat before a packed hotel ballroom of bankruptcy lawyers who had come to hear him hold court on his pioneering strategy for companies seeking to dodge billion-dollar lawsuits: the “Texas two-step.” The tactic has made the Jones …

‘Forever Chemicals’ Pose Risk Even at Very Low Levels: EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds found in drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought – and pose health risks even at levels so low they cannot currently be detected. The two compounds, …

Advice for Casualty Insurance Brokers: ‘Get Out of the Pajamas’

Asked for the latest thoughts on the role of the broker in managing client expectations against the headwinds of a difficult casualty insurance market, one panelist during Advisen’s Casualty Insights Conference said the “art of the broke needs to come …

PFAS, Microplastics, Baby Food: Emerging Casualty Risks Keep Coming

There is no longer a need to ponder the “next asbestos” because the current litigation environment and the recent pace of additions to the list of emerging risks and trends in casualty insurance is enough to keep the industry on …

People Moves: Hiscox Hires Starr’s Buchanan as Casualty Dir.; Sharpe, Griffiths to Inver Re’s Exec Team; Plumptre, Fox Join Blenheim Underwriting’s Political Risk Team

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at insurer Hiscox, the reinsurance broker Inver Re, and the Lloyd’s managing agency, Blenheim Underwriting. A summary of these new hires follows here. Hiscox Appoints Starr’s Buchanan as Casualty Director Hiscox, the …