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The National Hockey League has filed suit against its insurers over alleged revenue losses during mandatory COVID-19 shutdowns.

BY Autumn Demberger | APRIL 2, 2022

Twenty out of the 32 National Hockey League teams and the league itself are suing five insurance companies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact.

The teams are hoping to recoup an alleged $1 billion worth of losses due to the pandemic. These losses, they say, were in the form of ticket sales, concessions, parking and in-arena merchandise sales.

Due to the pandemic, especially during the 2020 season, teams were forced to play without cheering fans and subsequently without the added revenue stream.

The 2019-20 season was placed on pause in March 2020, finishing out later in the year once the teams were placed in quarantine bubbles.

The 2020-21 season further suffered, the teams allege, due to minimal attendance.

One insurer named in the lawsuit is Factory Mutual.… read more > “Penalty Shot: NHL Sues Its Insurers Over COVID-19 Losses”

Tri-City Herald | (Kennewick, WA)

Mar. 27—KENNEWICK, Wa. — A 54-year-old Kennewick man admitted last week to falsely accusing a FBI agent of trying to take a $22,000 bribe to make his case go away.

He was one of 23 suspects recently charged in a scheme to defraud insurance companies by staging 14 vehicle accidents over a three-year span. The group amassed nearly $1 million in fraudulent payouts, say federal prosecutors.

They were charged by indictment in December.

Mohammed Naji Al-Jibory was one of six accused of attempting to obstruct law enforcement officials and the investigation.

The FBI began investigating Al-Jibory and his accomplices in February 2019, after allegations surfaced that they were involved in a scheme to defraud multiple companies of money and property by “staging automobile accidents, and filing false and fraudulent claims with insurance companies, in violation of federal criminal laws,” said a release from Vanessa R. Waldref, U.S.… read more > “Washington State Man Charged With Defrauding Insurers In Crash Scam”

By: Roger Crombie | February 22, 2022

I’m glad 2021 is over. It was a very bad year.

The plague-related horrors that so many faced didn’t much affect me. I work from home and rarely leave at the best of times.

No, my 2021 owed its unique stink to the authorities. Regular readers may recall that financial insufficiency in later life has been my greatest fear. I shouldn’t have tempted fate by mentioning it: Last summer, government involvement bankrupted me, temporarily anyway.

Rather like the tale of Jericho and Joshua, it was decided that the walls of my apartment building should come tumbling down and be replaced, to improve fire safety.

From Detour, a 1945 movie: “Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you or me, for no good reason at all.”

My sudden ruin was not my fault — but then all bankrupts say that, I would imagine.… read more > “Perspective | How Insurance Underwriters Can Be Reasonable When the Government Is Not”

Samirah is the daughter of our C.O.O. Sonya Horton and has spent the last several years traveling to various schools and talking to children about anti-bullying. In addition, Samirah is also known as DJ Annie Red, and is currently the DJ for the Brooklyn Nets. We are all so proud of Samirah and her accomplishments!

BY MARIAH ESPADA | FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Samirah Horton uses music to take a stand against bullying. Courtesy Photo

From the age of 6, Samirah Horton, also known as DJ Annie Red, was picked on by her peers for the things that made her different—her raspier voice, her unique sense of style, and her unwavering confidence in herself. Rather than giving up, Horton decided to pick up a mic and make sure other children knew they weren’t alone. “I didn’t want other kids to go through that experience,” says Horton, “especially at a very young age.”… read more > “Congratulations to Samirah Horton on being recognized as 1 of the 5 finalists for Time and Nickelodeon Kid of the Year!”

THE NEED BECOMES MORE OBVIOUS; HOW WILL BENEFIT PLANS RESPOND?

By: Thomas A. McCoy, CLU

One lasting effect of the pandemic, a positive one, is that both employers and employees are becoming more aware of the importance of employee mental health. Support for employees’ mental health is looking more and more like the next universal need in employee benefits plans.

Although certain demographic groups have been especially vulnerable to mental stress during the pandemic, mental health needs transcend age, gender, job functions and income levels. These needs were present before the pandemic and will continue after it ends. The pandemic has simply kick-started the mental health conversation.

Jolee Crosby, head of global L&H underwriting and medical reinsurance for Swiss Re, says it is a “good sign” that consumers’ concern about mental health is on the rise. According to Swiss Re research, almost half (44%) of consumers were already concerned about the issue before the pandemic; now an additional 23% are even more concerned.… read more > “MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT IN THE WORKPLACE”

By Mark Hollmer

Property/casualty insurers head into 2022 facing “massive” political risks, an expert with the Insurance Information Institute said on Dec. 2. Economic uncertainty will also continue despite recovery trends.

Some exist due to post-pandemic economic fallout, but many others are longstanding or worsening flashpoints in the U.S. and around the globe, noted Michel Leonard, vice president, senior economist and data scientist, and head of the Economics and Analytics Department at III. He spoke during the III Joint Industry Forum 2021 in New York City.

Those risks, when listed together, are substantial. In the U.S., they include labor dislocation and the midterm elections, the continued institutional deadlock in Congress, worsening socioeconomic inequality and far right domestic radicalization. In the U.S. and around the world, these risks encompass anti-vax radicalization relating to the COVID-19 vaccines, far-left industrial sabotage relating to fossil fuels, and conflict with China over Taiwan and Hong Kong.… read more > “Heading Into 2022, P/C Insurers Face ‘Massive’ Political Risks, Economic Uncertainty”

They were so careful, for so long. They got covid anyway.

By: Tara Bahrampour

Fareha Ahmed had been cautious since the beginning of the pandemic. She had eaten in restaurants only three times. She and her husband were vaccinated and boosted, and their 7-year-old got vaccinated in November as soon as he was eligible. In mid-December, Ahmed, 39, who lives in Brightwood Park in the District, met a former colleague for an outdoor lunch. A few days later, the family attended an indoor gathering for the first time with other families, to bake Christmas cookies.

Then covid caught up with her.

Two days after the lunch, the colleague tested positive for coronavirus. Ahmed took PCR and rapid tests — both negative — and then for good measure took another PCR test the day of the cookie party; the other participants told her to come over and not worry.

But three days after the party she started feeling ill, and the next day her PCR test came back positive.… read more > “THEY GOT COVID ANYWAY”

With risks increasing, insurers look at the broader book of business regarding cyber

By: Lori Widmer

Even the new kid on the block experiences growing pains. Such is the case with the cyber insurance market, which enjoyed rapid expansion and plentiful availability from its infancy through 2018. However, by 2019, carriers were beginning to feel the pressure stemming from more frequent and severe claims, according to a February 2021 Gallagher Market Conditions paper.

When 2020 sent businesses into remote mode, cyber thieves took advantage of the initial confusion and lax cybersecurity practices. According to an FBI Internet Crime Report, there were 791,790 reported complaints of suspected internet crime in 2020, with over $4.2 billion in reported losses. Global costs of cybercrime are projected to increase 15% annually from 2015 to 2025—from $3 trillion to $10.5 trillion, according to the EY 2021 Global Insurance Outlook.

Increased frequency and severity have many predicting tougher times ahead.… read more > “NAVIGATING A HARDENING CYBER INSURANCE MARKET”

October 4, 2021

The country’s flood insurance market is slowly transitioning toward private insurers providing additional options to the federal government’s program for those seeking coverage, according to a new AM Best report.

But private sector carriers are being selective, tending to avoid risks in flood-prone areas and concentrating more on commercial properties than homeowners, an AM Best report shows.

According to Best’s Market Segment Report, “Appetite for Flood Risk Among Private Insurers Still Small,” more than 70% of overall private flood premium has been generated from commercial property exposures.

Also the report finds that private insurers tend to avoid flood-prone areas, noting that Florida experiences tropical systems more frequently than any other state and represents about one third of the total National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) insured value.

Yet, Florida represents only about a quarter of the total flood premium, partially illustrating the larger issue that the NFIP is subject to an inherent risk of adverse selection.… read more > “Private Flood Insurance Market Small But May Grow With New NFIP Rating: AM Best”

Cyber Insurance

By: TOM DAVIS | October 2021

Key Points

• Attacks Increasing: Since May 1, there have been at least 37 “significant” international cyber incidents, including the Colonial Pipeline attack that caused a spike in gas prices, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
• Premiums Rising: Cyber premiums have more than doubled since 2016, rising from $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion last year, according to Fred Eslami, senior financial analyst at AM Best.
• Insurers Are Selective: The cyber activity is so high now, “we can be in a position of saying to clients, ‘If you don’t have these controls in place then you’re not going to get covered for these types of attacks,’” said Tracie Grella, global head of cyber insurance for AIG.

Vishaal Hariprasad, CEO and co-founder of cyber insurer Resilience, didn’t hesitate when President Joe Biden looked right at him and asked: “How can the insurance industry help drive better cyber standards for the country?”… read more > “Cyberattacks: Insurers Defend Against Ransomware”

Hurricane Ida to be in the range of $28–30 billion

October 5, 2021

On an industry level, Swiss Re now estimates that total insured market losses from Hurricane Ida to be in the range of $28–30 billion, excluding federal flood insurance losses.

Hurricane Ida, the second-most intense hurricane on record to hit the state of Louisiana, also caused extensive wind and flood damage across the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic parts of the U.S. After making landfall on August 29, 2021, the category 4 hurricane caused wide-ranging power outages and severe infrastructure damages particularly in Louisiana, before triggering exceptional flash flooding and storm surges in the Northeastern regions of the country.

Swiss Re estimated its own preliminary claims burden from Hurricane Ida at approximately $750 million.

The estimates may need to be adjusted as the claims notification and assessment process continues.

Photo: Lyndell Scott walks past the debris of his gutted home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, La.,… read more > “Swiss Re Estimates Hurricane Ida Could Cost Insurers $30 Billion”

By: Louise Esola | September 01, 2021

Long-term health issues following a COVID-19 diagnosis will likely affect workers compensation claims acceptance, management and disability indefinitely, experts say.

Under the catch-all phrase “long COVID,” symptoms include fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath, joint or muscle pain, and difficulty concentrating. At least one study (see box) found 55 possible long-term effects of COVID-19.

“Navigating a patient through long COVID or long-hauler syndrome really is uncharted territory,” said Kathy Galia, senior vice president and general manager of clinical solutions for Paradigm, which provides managed care for injured workers, during a webinar in July.

While no official number is available, some organizations estimate that up to 80% of COVID-19 patients will experience one or more long-term, persistent symptoms.

“We’re in the long haul,” said Beth Burry-Jackson, Richmond, Virginia-based senior vice president of case management for Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., of the complicated scenario of managing COVID-19 claims with long-term symptoms.… read more > “‘Long COVID’ presents comp conundrum”