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Verdict in the first US Coronavirus Business Interruption Trial to set the tone for more than 1,300 other lawsuits against insurers

Overall, the industry could face at least $100 billion in total underwriting losses from the pandemic, Lloyd’s executives predicted earlier this year. The industry has been on a winning streak so far, persuading judges to throw out more than four times as many business-interruption suits as they’ve allowed to proceed, according to Baker’s analysis.

Lawsuits over lost-revenue claims have been filed by all sorts of businesses, from the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets to hair salons and doctor’s practices. The stakes for the insurance industry have escalated as more cases are filed. In the second quarter — after the initial shutdowns — Chubb Ltd. reported $1.16 billion in Covid-19 losses.

EU watchdog wants a more hands-on approach to insurer capital

Insurance Europe, an industry body, said EIOPA’s “disappointing” proposals would make the capital rules more conservative and create a less competitive sector.

The review should focus on what needs fixing and not be an overhaul as proposed by EIOPA with its “very extensive list” of potential changes, Insurance Europe said.

Dutch court case claims Shell’s operations violate human rights

The case brought by the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie, links the oil major’s stance on climate change with human rights. The ruling will also have implications for Shell’s European peers as pressure mounts on polluting energy companies to step up the fight against global warming.

Over two weeks of court proceedings, lawyers for Milieudefensie have argued that Shell is violating human rights by extracting fossil fuels and undermining the Paris Agreement’s aim of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Shell says it’s playing its part in addressing climate change, which can only be tackled through collaboration and not court action.

Canada records 20-year high in outbound insurance M&A

International deals in insurers involving Canadian investors rose to $11.6 billion in 2020, the highest in at least two decades, according to data from Refinitiv.

That places Canadian investors as the third biggest investors in insurance deals, behind the UK and the United States, according to the data. Last year, Canadian investors were the fifth largest in the space.

SC directs states to carry out fire safety audit of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said hospitals whose fire NOC has expired will have to get it renewed within four weeks. The top court said all the states will follow COVID-19 guidelines, including on wearing of face mask and adherence to social distancing measures, and the standard operating procedure issued by the competent authority.

Over 4.5 cr people in India will be forced to migrate from homes by 2050 due to climate disasters

The report  ”Costs of climate inaction: displacement and distress migration” assessed climate-fuelled displacement and migration across five South Asian countries — Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — and calculates a devastating likelihood of over 6 crore people being homeless and displaced by 2050 in South Asia alone.

Vaccination for COVID-19 will be voluntary: Health ministry

“Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary. However, it is advisable to receive the complete schedule of the vaccine for protecting one-self against this disease and also to limit the spread of this disease to the close contacts including family members, friends, relatives and co-workers,” the ministry said in response to a question on if it is mandatory to take the shot.

From insurers to landlords, retailers to restaurants, COVID tarnsforms  Economies

Like no other event in memory, the pandemic has upended economies in the United States and across the world — transforming how people work, travel, eat, shop and congregate. It has changed how students are educated, how people communicate, how households are entertained and which industries, geographic areas and categories of people will thrive and which will suffer.

It has widened a gap between educated and affluent people who can work from home and the less fortunate — people in lower-income households without college educations or high skills who depend solely on wages rather than stock or home equity gains — who now stand to be left further behind. And it’s forced many working mothers to quit their jobs for lack of child care.