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Travelers Risk Index: Cyber ranks as the top business concern

Security breaches, system glitches and unauthorized access to bank accounts are the top three cyber-specific business concerns.

The percentage of respondents who said their company suffered a security breach where someone hacked into a system increased nearly 40% compared to 2020, to almost half (46%).
Security breaches, system glitches and unauthorized access to bank accounts are the top three cyber-specific business concerns.

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Automakers are about to shake up the auto insurance industry

The Connected Auto Insurance Global Study reveals that many insurers now write over 50% of new business to connected auto insurance.

Dr Andrew Jackson, Research Director, said: “When car usage collapsed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, policyholders demanded prices based on actual mileage. OEMs have been stepping in to the gap, and in a clear statement of intent, half of all OEM in-house UBI programmes use connected car data only, removing insurers and Telematics Service Providers (TSPs) from the equation.”

At least 17 OEMs are selling connected car services with dynamically-priced insurance already available from Ford, GM, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen. Many car manufacturers have also forged insurance partnerships (i.e. Ford with Arity, GM with American Family, Ford with Octo Telematics, PSA with AXA, Daimler with SwissRE).

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Evergrande’s debt problems pose systemic risk in China and beyond

The central bank in 2018 said companies including Evergrande might pose systemic risk to China’s financial system.

The firm’s liabilities involved as many as 128 banks and over 121 non-banking institutions, the leaked letter showed.

Late repayments could trigger cross-defaults as many financial institutions are exposed via direct loans and indirect holdings through different financial instruments.

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Oil will be world’s No. 1 energy source for decades, says OPEC

OPEC says that more electric vehicles on the road and the push for alternative and renewable energy will indeed usher in an era of declining demand for oil in rich countries.

But the energy needs of expanding economies in other parts of world will still leave oil as the world’s No. 1 source of energy through 2045, OPEC said Tuesday in its annual World Oil Outlook.

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China encourages mainland insurers to sell catastrophe bonds in Hong Kong

Mainland property and casualty insurance companies and reinsurance companies can set up special-purpose entities in Hong Kong to raise funds from bond sales, according to a statement of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).

The arrangement can help diversify insurers’ losses from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and typhoons, it said.

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Biden’s $3.5 trillion climate change plan to eliminate fossil fuel emissions from U.S

Included in the massive legislation is a nationwide clean-electricity program that is intended to eliminate climate-damaging fossil fuel emissions from U.S. power plants by 2035 catching up to requirements already set in some states.

The proposal would spend billions to install 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations and upgrade the power grid to make it more resilient during hurricanes and other extreme weather events that are increasing and intensifying as a result of climate change.

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Investors with $4 trln assets aim to tackle Asian firms on climate change goals

The six investors include BMO Global Asset Management EMEA, Fidelity International, Dutch pension fund PGGM, Britain-based Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Aviva Investors and Legal & General Investment Management.

Initial engagement will focus on carbon risk and coal at banks and coal-exposed power companies, the group of investors, facilitated by Singapore-based advisor Asia Research & Engagement (ARE), said in a statement.

The move comes as investors become more active in the field of environmental, social and corporate (ESG) governance, helping to shape firms’ climate commitments to better manage that risk for their clients. ESG-related steps they have taken include backing activist shareholder resolutions and voting on board members and remuneration.

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