Bruce Bentley

Insurers won two large business interruption lawsuits last week, continuing a largely successful defense against paying pandemic business claims. In California, U.S. District Judge Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled in favor of the insurance industry on pandemic business interruption claims filed by attorneys representing two French restaurants in the Napa Valley on the grounds that virus exclusion precludes damage coverage that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "While the court recognizes the chaos that the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing protective measures have created businesses in this country and around the world, the court cannot put ambiguity into an insurance contract where there is none," said Judge Corley. This decision in California adds to the growing list of favorable decisions made over the past year and confirms the position of insurers that global pandemic risks are uninsurable. "Insurers are doing everything possible to respond to the pandemic, i...

A 55% decrease in average kilometers traveled and a record unemployment rate of 15% prompted many auto insurance customers to look for new insurance coverage following the outbreak of the pandemic last year. However, buyers found an increasingly homogenized market where price was the main differentiator, according to JD Power. According to the company's US Insurance Shopping Study from 2021, insurers' efforts to differentiate themselves in the market will increasingly depend on bringing more innovative products and services to market. "The pandemic revealed a lot about insurance purchasing behavior in 2020 as there has been a significant increase in purchasing activity from customers who have been financially affected and interested in big, well-known brands and offers for lower prices," said Tom Super, Head of property and casualty insurance at JD Power. “Experience highlights the need for more sophisticated acquisition and storage tools. Ironically, even thoug...