Latest COVID-19 Headlines

All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Insurers, Policyholders, Analysts React to UK’s COVID-19 Business Interruption Ruling

Sep 15 2020 // Insurers and observers are weighing in on the ruling by a London court in a test case brought by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to clarify insurance coverage for COVID-19 related business interruption...

Coronavirus Pandemic Will Have Severe Impact on Social Inflation: Fitch’s Mazzuoli

Sep 15 2020 // Claims inflation for the commercial liability business will increase through 2020, although it was accelerating even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. This trend, known as social inflation, has led the insurance...

COVID-19 Crisis Reveals Contract Clarity Lessons, Digital Opportunities: Flandro

Sep 15 2020 // In every crisis, lessons must be learned, but opportunities also are revealed. And so it goes with the COVID-19, which has shown the need for contract certainty in the re/insurance industry, while at the same time...

World Leaders Failed to Heed Warnings and Prepare for Pandemic, Says Global Report

Sep 15 2020 // A collective failure by political leaders to heed warnings and prepare for an infectious disease pandemic has transformed “a world at risk” to a “world in disorder,” according to a report on...

Why the Coronavirus Recession Is Not Like the Last Recession

Sep 14 2020 // Judith Ramirez received a letter this month that she’d been dreading: The Honolulu hotel that furloughed her from a housekeeping job in March, during the lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, made her...

Major UK Ruling on Business Insurance for COVID-19 Claims Expected Tuesday

Sep 14 2020 // Insurers battered by coronavirus are about to find out how much worse the damage could get.A London court is set to rule Tuesday in a case involving about 370,000 policyholders, companies including Zurich Insurance Group...

Overturned Ship Removal Process in Georgia to Move Forward with Virus Safeguards

Sep 11 2020 // Workers coming to the Georgia coast to cut apart and remove a giant cargo ship that overturned a year ago will be sequestered at a nearby resort, which will close to the public for up to four months, in an effort to...

Signs of Heart Damage After Covid Lead to Recommendation to Screen College Athletes

Sep 11 2020 // Doctors recommend cardiac screening tests for competitive athletes who have recovered from Covid-19 after a small study found heart damage in 1 in 7 college sports competitors, including in those whose coronavirus...

About Half of Bars, Restaurants Complying with Minnesota COVID-19 Rules

Sep 11 2020 // State and local inspections of dozens of bars and restaurants for compliance to coronavirus requirements found about half were following the rules in Minnesota.Inspections were done at 167 establishments outside the Twin...

Kansas Health Dept.: Meatpacking Plants Have Highest Number of Active COVID Cases

Sep 11 2020 // Meatpacking plants and correctional facilities continue to be the main sites of active COVID-19 clusters in Kansas, with each reporting thousands of cases, according to data released on Sept. 9 by the state health...

Does An Employer Have to Say If Coworker Has Coronavirus?

Sep 11 2020 // Does an employer have to say if a coworker has the virus?Employers are generally not required to tell workers when someone in the workplace has tested positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

Lloyd’s Underlying Underwriting Results See ‘Huge Improvement’ Despite COVID Losses

Sep 11 2020 // While Lloyd’s overall results in the second half were hit by £2.4 billion ($3.12 billion) of COVID-19 claims, the market’s underlying underwriting performance saw a “huge improvement,” which Chief...

New Ransomware Strains Being Unleashed on Businesses During Pandemic

Sep 11 2020 // Ransomware attacks grew by nearly 50 percent in the 2020 second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, underscoring the risks created by pandemic-related work-from-home requirements, a new Coalition report...

Munich Re to Stop Selling Pandemic Business Coverage

Sep 11 2020 // Munich Re has stopped selling coverage to protect against business losses in future pandemics after the German reinsurer took a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) virus-related hit in the first half.“We are currently...

OSHA Cites Smithfield Foods For Lax Coronavirus Safety for Meat Plant Workers

Sep 11 2020 // The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday it cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from the coronavirus, making it the first major U.S. meatpacker to face a fine after outbreaks at slaughterhouses...

Cal/OSHA Cites Food Manufacturer, Staffing Firm for Not Protecting Workers from COVID

Sep 10 2020 // Cal/OSHA has issued citations to frozen food manufacturer Overhill Farms Inc. and its temporary employment agency Jobsource North America Inc. with over $200,000 in proposed penalties to each employer for failing to...

Alabama City to Reopen Bars After Virus-Related Shut Down

Sep 10 2020 // The city of Tuscaloosa eased pandemic restrictions and began allowing bars to reopen with limits Tuesday, days after the University of Alabama reported nearly 850 new cases of the coronavirus, which has affected more than...

Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk

Sep 10 2020 // Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were on edge as early as March when patients with COVID-19 began to show up in areas of the hospital that were not set aside to care for them.The Centers for Disease Control and...

New Mexico Officials Say Teachers Are Safe from Legal Liability Amid Virus

Sep 10 2020 // New Mexico officials clarified this week that teachers won’t be on the hook for lawsuits that might stem from COVID-19 outbreaks as in-person classes began for some students.“In no way will teachers or school...

Lloyd’s Reports First Half Loss of $520M on COVID-19 Insurance Claims

Sep 10 2020 // Lloyd’s of London recorded a pretax loss of 400 million pounds ($520.08 million) in the first half, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the commercial insurance market said on Thursday.Insurers around the world...