Monthly Archives: <span>January 2019</span>

Willis Re: Several Catastrophes Led to Average Insured Losses in 2018

Insured losses from major natural catastrophes in 2018 totaled roughly $71.5 billion, only slightly more than the annual average since 2011 but the third-highest total during the eight-year period, according to the Summary of Natural Catastrophe Events 2018 report, published …

New York Could Ban Stretch Limos Under New Proposal

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed banning stretch limousines from the state’s roads as part of a safety crackdown on large for-hire passenger vehicles following the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in nearly a decade. Twenty people were killed in October …

California Storms Lead to Worry Over Potential Mudslides

A year after a mudslide swept through a fire-devastated California town, killing 21 people, residents of hundreds homes in burn areas were told to pack up and leave as a Pacific storm threatened potential catastrophe. In Riverside County east of …

Retaking Control When Dealing With Insurtech Choices

Distinguishing between insider and outsider firms is the key to gaining control of insurtech options, according to Wesley Todd, creator of CaseGlide, a collaboration, workflow, and analytics platform for insurance litigation departments. In the second in a series of podcasts …

Headlights of the Future Could Offer Safety Benefits

Most people don’t turn on their car’s headlights and think, I wish they were brighter. Shuji Nakamura is not most people. The Nobel Prize-winning illumination scientist has spent the past five years developing a laser-based lighting system. His company, SLD …

South Carolina Lawmakers Try Again With New Medical Marijuana Bill

South Carolina lawmakers are once again introducing legislation to legalize marijuana for treatment of critically ill patients in the state, making another go at a debate that has gradually made progress in this deeply red state in recent years. Sen. …

Boston Marks the 100 Year Anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood

Slow as molasses? This treacle didn’t trickle. It was a sticky, deadly tsunami that flattened an entire Boston neighborhood within seconds. On Tuesday, the city marks the 100th anniversary of its most peculiar disaster – the Great Molasses Flood. It …

California Courts’ Take on Inverse Condemnation Doomed PG&E

As PG&E Corp. hurtles toward bankruptcy, a once-obscure legal doctrine with an awkward name certainly bears a portion of the blame. Known as inverse condemnation, it holds California utilities responsible for wildfire damage caused by their equipment – whether the …

Study Finds Marijuana Users More Likely to Be Fired, Laid Off

As the rate of marijuana use continues to rise in the U.S., workers who use marijuana may be at higher risk of losing their jobs, suggests a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. “Job loss may …

Politics, Greater Employee Focus Among Workers’ Comp Issues to Watch in 2019

Value-based care, party changes in several states, as well as a holistic view when it comes to patient injuries will have a significant impact on the workers’ compensation industry this year, according to hosts of the Out Front Ideas webinar …