President Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration making businesses and individuals in five mid-Michigan counties eligible for federal assistance after flooding in May. The declaration was sought by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after the flooding caused damage totaling $245 million.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Life Insurance and Annuities Committee is set to vote today on proposed changes to Actuarial Guideline 49 that would make indexed universal life insurance illustrations fall more in line with actual returns. If the committee votes in favor of the changes, they will go to the NAIC's Executive and Plenary Committee for review.

Analysts' earnings estimates for one litigation financing company are more than twice what was forecast at the start of 2020, and its CEO said demand for lawsuit funding could rise further when coronavirus-related "safe harbors" are lifted. Such companies "could see sustained growth" as liquidity pressure increases and more disputes emerge, said Tamlin Bason of Bloomberg Intelligence.

The Council of the District of Columbia has advanced a measure intended to suspend deadlines for filing business interruption claims and to allow an additional 90 days for BI claims after the District's coronavirus-related restrictions end. The legislation comes after the withdrawal of bill designed to force retroactive coverage of coronavirus-related BI claims, which drew opposition from APCIA.

Safekeep and Jupiter Intelligence have been named by Zurich North America Insurance as two of the eight finalists in the insurer's global Innovation Championship. The final contest is set for October.

Prescription drug spending in workers' compensation was down 6.1% last year, Matrix Healthcare Services says in a report. The decline was partly because of a 10.7% average reduction in payers' spending on opioids, the report says.

The Southeast, Midwest and Plains experienced severe weather resulting in damage worth more than $2 billion in June, Aon says in its latest catastrophe update. The severe weather included straight-line wind, large hail, flash flooding and tornadoes, Aon says.

Walmart, which has opened four primary care clinics and made other recent health care-related acquisitions, will soon begin selling supplemental Medicare Advantage insurance plans. The new venture will start in the Dallas area, where Walmart is advertising for insurance agents to fill positions at Walmart Insurance Services LLC.

Minor League Baseball teams are seeking business interruption coverage after the cancellation of their 2020 season, and at least one lawsuit has emerged so far. APCIA President and CEO David Sampson has said that pandemics are fundamentally uninsurable and that "diversifying pandemic risk is particularly difficult as a large number of businesses and households are often affected at once, which in turn can create substantial losses."

The Labor Department's decision to allow only 30 days to comment on a proposed exemption for investment-advice fiduciaries, instead of the customary 60 days, has drawn criticism from lawmakers and public interest groups. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, have written Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia asking for a longer comment period.