Clamp down on cryptocurrency exchange to tackle cyber crime
15 March 2021
More must be done to clamp down on exchanges that allow cyber criminals to launder billions of dollars via cryptocurrencies, an insurance expert says...
International
Berkshire increases insurance underwriting profit
15 March 2021
Berkshire Hathaway has recorded an increase in earnings from its insurance business, with underwriting profit of $US657 million last year, about twice that of 2019 when it made $325 million...
UK BI test case prompts reinsurance questions
08 March 2021
The UK test case judgment on business interruption has the potential to confuse the conversation around reinsurance responses to COVID losses, Guy Carpenter says...
FCA defends COVID-presence BI guidance
08 March 2021
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has defended its guidance on how policyholders may wish to prove the presence of COVID-19 in an area around their premises when making business interruption claims...
China’s foreign ownership changes benefit Chinese insurers: GlobalData
08 March 2021
Rule changes in China around foreign ownership are aimed at fostering “national champions” rather than benefitting international insurance companies, GlobalData says...
January renewals fail to deliver ‘hard’ rates for reinsurers
08 March 2021
Reinsurers’ hopes of securing “hard” rates at the recent January renewals were dashed as reinsurance buyers refused to yield, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings...
Time to end bundled cyber cover as risks rise: S&P
08 March 2021
Insurers should move away from bundling in cyber protection with other lines given the pandemic-driven step-change in the complexity and size of potential risks, S&P Global Ratings says...
Industry unites to address climate change threat
01 March 2021
Industry think-tank The Geneva Association has launched a working group to develop climate risk assessment methodologies and tools for the insurance sector...
Climate change to have little impact on insurer ratings: Fitch
01 March 2021
Climate change is expected to have little impact on insurance ratings despite the serious challenge it represents for the industry and the questions it raises for cover affordability as prices increase, Fitch Ratings says...
Insurers brace for ‘record’ losses from Texas deep freeze
01 March 2021
The devastating winter storms that blanketed Texas last month could end up being the largest claims event in the state’s history, according to the Insurance Council of Texas...
Industry builds up capital base amid favourable investor sentiment
01 March 2021
Insurers have been able to raise capital with relative ease, reflecting partly the absence of better investment opportunities elsewhere, according to a report from AM Best...
US insurers play ‘pivotal’ role in economy
01 March 2021
The Insurance Information Institute has produced a report outlining the critical role property and casualty insurers play in supporting the US economy...
Munich Re expects ‘smaller scale’ COVID impact this year
01 March 2021
Munich Re says the business remains on track for a €2.8 billion profit this year as was forecast in December, projecting financial consequences from COVID-19 would be on a “considerably smaller scale” compared to last year...
FCA urges BI response as court finalises details
22 February 2021
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has urged insurers to move ahead with business interruption claim settlements as the Supreme Court distils its recent judgment into a set of declarations...
New Orleans court backs insurers on BI
22 February 2021
A New Orleans court has ruled in favour of insurers in a business interruption case brought by a local restaurant against Lloyd’s underwriters...
Allianz takes $2 billion COVID hit
22 February 2021
Allianz says COVID-19 impacted its balance sheet to the tune of €1.3 billion last year, sending its operating profit down 9%...
AIG COVID losses pass $1 billion
22 February 2021
AIG says its full-year COVID-19 losses for 2020 came to $US1.1 billion as the pandemic impacted business, particularly travel...
Swiss Re says 'worst is over’
22 February 2021
Swiss Re says the worst of the coronavirus’ impact on its earnings is over after pandemic-related claims blew out to $US3.9 billion on business interruption, cancelled events and higher mortality last year...
Europe’s cyclone Victoria losses reach $545 million: Perils
22 February 2021
An extratropical cyclone which affected the British Isles and north-west Europe a year ago caused insurance losses of €350 million, Zurich catastrophe data company Perils says in a final estimate...
Reputational salvation is silver lining in insurers’ bitter BI pill, analyst says
15 February 2021
The UK Supreme Court’s ruling on business interruption cover will hit profits at insurers in the short-term, but it is likely to bolster insurance penetration rates at SMEs in the longer run and is far less damaging than not paying out, GlobalData says...