Insurance Journal’s Most Noteworthy Topics of 2020: Midwest Region
Hundreds, if not thousands, of lawsuits have been filed across the U.S. in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the nation and the world this year. The Midwest region has not been spared by the disease or its consequences on peoples’ lives and businesses, nor has the region escaped the litigation arising from the challenges the coronavirus has presented.
While lawsuits against insurance companies over denials of pandemic-related business interruption claims filed by policyholders have garnered a lot of attention this year, actions in the Midwest region also have been filed against employers over COVID-19 safety protocols or lack thereof, against companies following employee COVID-19 deaths and illnesses, and against local and state authorities over virus-related rules and constrictions.
One state, Missouri, even brought suit against the government of China, blaming it for the global pandemic and holding it “responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians.”
Some of the headlines that most captured the attention of readers of IJ’s Midwest news in 2020 include:
- Illinois Lawsuits Challenge Society Insurance’s Coronavirus Claim Denials
- Ohio Bill Would Expand Business Interruption Coverage During COVID-19 Emergency
- Michigan Suit Says Insurer Owes Commercial Premium Refund Due to Virus
- Insurer Counters Income Loss Claims by Arguing Restaurants Operated Takeout Service
- Illinois Casualty to Suspend Billing to Restaurants, Taverns in COVID-19 Response
- Viewpoint: Insurance Denials, Proposed Legislation Raise Concerns
- Nephew: Dead Worker Had Warned Virus Was ‘Everywhere’ at Iowa Plant
- Kansas Legislature Passes Bill Barring COVID-19 Lawsuits
- Tyson Fires 7 Managers at Iowa Plant Over Betting on COVID-19 Cases
- Missouri Family Files Workers’ Comp Claim in Nurse’s Death from Virus
- Families of 3 Deceased Workers Sue Tyson Over Iowa Virus Outbreak
- Family Sues Illinois Meatpacking Plant After Man’s Death from COVID-19
- Workers at North Dakota Company Go on Strike over COVID-19 Safety Concerns
- Illinois Business Groups Sue Over Expanded Workers’ Comp Eligibility Rules
- Restaurants Sue to Stop New Michigan Governor’s Ban on Dining
- After Court Ruling, New Emergency Orders Issued to Stem Virus in Michigan
- Missouri Sues China Over Coronavirus Pandemic
A storm packing hurricane force winds hit the U.S. Midwest in August, leaving in its wake not only widespread property damage in cities and towns, but severe challenges to farm economies that were already suffering from previous extreme weather events, the U.S.-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winds as high as 100 miles per hour battered eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and parts of Illinois in the widespread storm classified as a “derecho” by the National Weather Service. By the end of October, losses from the mid-August windstorm that leveled tens of millions of acres of crops had risen to more than $7.5 billion.
- Derecho Winds Tear Through U.S. Farmland, Leave 500K-Plus Without Power
- Derecho Storm Leveled Soybean and Corn Fields, Storage Tanks Across Midwest
- Damage Mounts from Midwest Derecho Storm
- Report: Iowa Will Only Get Part of $4B Disaster Relief Request, for Now
- Some 10M Acres of Iowa Farmland Impacted by Derecho Storm
- Drones Help Insurance Companies Check Windstorm Damage in Iowa
- Iowa State U. Scientist/Storm Chaser: Aug. 10 Derecho an ‘Incredible Event’
- Iowa’s Derecho Crop Losses Increase by More Than 50%, Report Shows
- Report: Cost of Damage from August Midwest Windstorm Up to $7.5B
- Iowa Hospital to Demolish Part of Building Damaged in Derecho
- Iowa Insurance Claims from August Derecho Top $1.6B
Dan Gutlovics did a lot of virtual hand holding during the first days of the violent protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25. Gutlovics, sales executive with Corporate Four Insurance Agency in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota, has commercial insurance clients with businesses in the protest-affected areas. His agency was not directly impacted by the violence but some of his customers’ businesses were. He said he did a lot of consultation with his clients over what coverages and options were available to them.
Days of rioting followed Floyd’s death, not only in Minneapolis and St. Paul but in other cities and towns across the country. The Star Tribune reported on June 9 that the total cost of the damage in the Twin Cities alone could rise above $500 million. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 commercial properties were damaged or destroyed in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to local news sources. The Insurance Information Institute has estimated that damage costs from the rioting in the U.S. may rival the 1992 Los Angeles riots to become the most costly civil disorder in the country’s history.
- Reassuring Customers Part of Job for Minnesota Agent in Aftermath of Riots
- Minnesota Governor Makes Another Request for Federal Aid to Rebuild After Unrest
- Damage from Violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Tops $11M
- 10 Charged with Looting, Vandalism in Minneapolis
- 2 Injured by Minneapolis Police Projectiles During Unrest Suing City
- Mayor Takes Heat for Response as Minneapolis Burns
- Owners Say Insurance Inadequate to Cover Demolition of Riot-Destroyed Buildings
- Police: Hell’s Angel Sparked Destructive Riots in Minneapolis
- Property Damage from Unrest in Minneapolis: $55M and Rising
- Riots in Wake of Floyd’s Death Could Become Most Costly Civil Disorder for Insurers
Michigan, with its requirement that drivers purchase unlimited, lifetime medical benefits with their auto insurance policy, has had some of the most expensive auto insurance in the nation, and auto insurance reform has been a topic of interest to both insurers and insureds in the state for a long time — until this year.
Michigan lawmakers in May 2019 finally passed an auto insurance reform law that allows insureds opt out of buying personal injury protection (PIP) or to choose from six levels of PIP to purchase with their policies. It also required insurers to file a minimum of a 10% reduction in auto premium rates by the time the law came into effect on July 2, 2020. As a result, the state’s drivers are expected to see a big drop in insurance premium rates, a larger one even than is required by law, according to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Anita Fox, director of the state’s insurance department.
- Some Michigan Drivers Could See Big Drop in Insurance Rates with New Law
- Michigan Car Insurance Fee for Medical Coverage to Go Down Again
- Viewpoint: Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Is Here. Agents, Are You Ready?
- Michigan Governor: Savings on Car Insurance to Be Higher than Law Requires
Stories about the crimes and misdemeanors that others commit (or are at least accused of) are the stuff of which news organizations are made, apparently. And insurance news organizations are no different judging from the amount of interest generated by the numerous accounts of agent fraud allegations and/or convictions in IJ’s Midwest region in 2020. Obviously, agent fraud was not limited to just one state — a variety of Midwest jurisdictions were represented in the fraud reports that that IJ readers clicked on this year:
- Iowa Insurance Agent Fined $18K, Loses License Over Fraudulent, Dishonest Practices
- Iowa Agent Charged with Insurance Fraud
- Michigan Insurance Agent Charged with $375K Client Theft
- Minnesota Insurance Agent Charged with Stealing $524K From Clients
- Former Insurance Agent Charged, Has License Permanently Revoked in Wisconsin
- Former Michigan Insurance Agent Sentenced to Jail for Embezzlement
- Minnesota Fraud Bureau: Insurance Fraud Referrals Up in 2019 but not for Agents
- Former Iowa Agent Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud
- Former Michigan Insurance Agent Pleads No Contest to Embezzlement Charges
- Former Ohio Insurance Agent Gets 9 Years in Prison for $1.1M Theft from Clients
- Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Revokes Agent’s License
- Police Officer’s Family Sues Girlfriend Accused of His Death and Bars That Served Her
- Upstate Jury Says Harley-Davidson Must Pay $287 Million for Fatal ‘Trike’ Accident
- Mailing a Letter, in Context With Other Clues, Is Sufficient Cancellation – NC High Court
- Americans Shop Around for Insurance More Than Ever as Costs Soar