Mississippi homeowners could see premiums rise up to 25 percent thanks to Hurricane Katrina-related subrogation litigation being brought by the Mississippi attorney general. Lime electric scooters in Brisbane were hacked, threatening the company’s reputation at a pivotal moment. Newer seat-back entertainment systems on some major airlines are now equipped with cameras.

***

Hurricane Katrina-related subrogation litigation being brought by the Mississippi attorney general could cost homeowners up to $55 million annually, according to a recent report from Milliman Inc.

Mississippi property insurers already paid $13.8 billion in covered losses on 515,000 Katrina claims, and the federal government stepped in to help homeowners who did not have enough insurance coverage to rebuild, adding more than $2.1 billion of grant assistance. Nearly 14 years later, the Mississippi attorney general’s office is working with outside plaintiffs’ attorneys to extend Katrina litigation and file lawsuits against insurance companies—without notifying the homeowners who initiated the claims.

Milliman’s January 2019 report (“Mississippi Homeowners Insurance: Potential Impacts from Subrogation Litigation“) finds that the typical coastal county policyholder could see premium increases between $10 and $487 per annual policy due to the anticipated impact of future litigation—a rate increase that ranges from 0.5 percent to 25 percent.

Source: March 27, 2019 press release from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association: “New Report Confirms Insurance Costs Could Rise in Mississippi Due to Litigation on Hurricane Katrina Claims.”

***

In April, vandals broke into eight Lime electric scooters in Brisbane, Australia and replaced audio files with offensive messages.

Many of the incurred costs can be covered under a comprehensive cyber insurance policy, but the hack impacted Lime’s reputation at a time when it was involved in a tender to become one of two licensed scooter providers in Brisbane.

This incident follows earlier glitches with Lime’s electric scooter firmware that saw many scooters pulled from the streets after front wheels locked up, sending passengers hurtling over the handlebars and causing serious injuries.

Sources:

• Brisbane Times: “Hacked Lime scooters play offensive voice messages”
• LinkedIn update from Lockton’s William Boeck

***

Newer seat-back entertainment systems on some airplanes operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines are equipped with cameras. While all four airlines said they have never activated the cameras and have no plans to use them, their presence brings concerns about passenger privacy and the risk of hacking.

The cameras are being installed by the companies that make the entertainment systems in order to offer future options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.

Source: AP News: “Smile: Some airliners have cameras on seat-back screens”