Monthly Archives: <span>December 2020</span>

Insurers, Drugmakers Sail into Unknown With Covid Vaccine Rollout

LONDON — Speedy global delivery of COVID-19 vaccines by air and sea in ultra cold conditions will lead to a jump in cargo insurance rates and spur demand for new areas of coverage, leaving underwriters on high alert. Pharmaceutical companies …

Indiana Lawmakers to Push Coronavirus Lawsuit Shield

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s governor and legislative leaders are lining up in favor of giving a legal shield to businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits when the General Assembly returns to action next month. Supporters argue the liability protection is needed for …

Lawmakers: Insurance Disputes Slow Louisiana Storm Recovery

BATON ROUGE, La. — Southwest Louisiana lawmakers Wednesday criticized the insurance industry’s handling of claims from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, describing slow responses, low-balled damage estimates and drones used to assess destruction instead of people. “We’re almost four months ago …

Miami Beach Wants to Help Homeowners Adapt to Sea Level Rise

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Beach is exploring a way to help residents cover the cost of floodproofing their properties from heavy rains and high tides made even higher by sea level rise — at least a little. The city is …

Businesses, Lacking Legal Immunity, Fear COVID-19 Lawsuits

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Plans for a lawsuit against a Maine venue that hosted what became a “superspreader” wedding reception underscore the liability risks to small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic and an uphill push by Republicans in Congress to …

Kaimi, Hawaii’s First Certified Arson Dog, Dies at 13

HILO, Hawaii — Hawaii’s first certified arson dog, Kaimi, has died at the home of his handler Robert Perreira, the acting fire chief of the Hawaii Fire Department. The Labrador and golden retriever mix died Dec. 12 at the age …

Small Town Besieged by Hundreds of Giant Black Vultures

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Black vultures circled beneath a leaden sky, swooping down close to the tombstones in a Marietta cemetery in search of something dead to eat. Classic horror imagery aside, a big bird in the air is better than …

Unclear Policy Endorsement Makes Excess Insurer Liable for Fuel Spill

Confusing language in a policy issued by an excess insurer puts the carrier on the hook for up to $5 million in clean-up costs after a policyholders’ tanker truck overturned and spilled its load of fuel, the 1st Circuit Court …

What Happens When Tycoons Abandon Their Giant Cargo Ships

From the deck of their tanker, Captain Samig Nabiyev and his crew could see the smoke and fire rising over the Port of Beirut, 900 meters away. When the flaming warehouse exploded, the force of the blast knocked Nabiyev flat …

Fiji Imposes Curfew as it Prepares for Major Cyclone to Hit

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — Fiji imposed a nationwide curfew Thursday after urging people near the coast to move to higher ground as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit. Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the two …