Archive for September 2015

The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the deadly crash of a duck boat and charter bus is the first time the agency has looked into a land crash of the amphibious vehicles critics say are too dangerous for city … Source: Claims Journal

Contractors have been tearing down hundreds of Portland, Ore., homes without properly removing the asbestos inside, a practice that ignores state regulations and could put workers at risk. Weak regulatory oversight from the Department of Environmental Quality has allowed the … Source: Claims Journal

Killings by police in the line of duty have surged in Washington over the past decade, according to a Seattle Times analysis. During that period, only one police officer has been criminally charged in state courts with the illegal use … Source: Claims Journal

A physician assistant who wasn’t licensed or trained to perform surgery operated on hundreds of patients while the orthopedic surgeon who billed for the procedures schemed with colleagues to hide a massive insurance fraud conspiracy, Los Angeles prosecutors said. Prosecutors … Source: Claims Journal

The popularity of food trucks over recent years hasn’t waned, likely due to their mobility and trendy menu items. As the food truck industry grows, so do the fire risks. The International Association of Fire Chiefs partnered with FEMA to … Source: Claims Journal

An intermediate Illinois state appellate court has rejected an additional insured’s argument that contradictions between a building subcontract and a CGL policy additional insured endorsement gave rise to ambiguity in the policy, but the insurer must defend the additional insured … Source: Claims Journal

Munich Re and Marsh & McLennan Cos., the largest insurance broker by market value, introduced a product to insure U.S. pharmaceutical companies against regulatory actions that could cause them to suspend manufacturing. The product would cover as much as $10 … Source: Claims Journal

Volkswagen AG executives in Germany controlled the key aspects of emissions tests whose results the carmaker now admits were faked, according to three people familiar with the company’s U.S. operations. The criteria, outcomes and engineering of cars that missed emissions … Source: Claims Journal

A pair of massive California wildfires that have destroyed more than 2,000 structures are now considered among the most damaging fires in state history, and they could change the way insurers view risk or conduct underwriting in rural areas in … Source: Claims Journal

Every fall, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) sets workers’ compensation rates for the following year. As wages and healthcare costs rise, the cost of providing workers’ compensation insurance goes up. This year, the department is proposing … Source: Claims Journal