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Agile launches New Zealand operation to support Lloyd’s syndicate
The establishment of a New Zealand entity solidifies Agile’s...
Sunk superyacht likely to cost insurers at least $150 million, experts say
The hull was likely insured for around $40 million, while the...
Brit launches machine learning algorithm to enable faster claims response to catastrophe events
In this latest innovation, Brit’s Data Science team developed and overlaid a machine learning algorithm to access the ultra-high-resolution ariel images and data such that it pinpoints, color-codes, and displays properties by damage classification within days after a catastrophe event. This enables the Brit Claims team to proactively identify, triage and assign response activity even before claims are reported.
UN climate talks: Faint progress on money, none on pollution
World leaders made “faint signs of progress” on the financial end of fighting climate change in a special United Nations feet-to-the-fire meeting Monday, but they didn’t commit to more crucial cuts in emissions of the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming.In the meeting, vulnerable countries such as the Marshall Islands and the Maldives that are “staring down the barrel” of climate change were “pleading with the developed world to step up to the plate” to provide needed money for them to cope with warming’s impacts, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the meeting with Guterres.
Investment consultants advising $10 trln in assets launch climate initiative
“The global transition to a net zero economy means asset owners have to develop their understanding of climate risks, think about changing pathways for their assets and exercise their stewardship rights,” said Luba Nikulina, global head of research at Willis Towers Watson.
“Investment consultants play a vital role in supporting asset owners on this journey and helping them increase their level of climate ambition.”
Biden sanctions cryptocurrency exchange over ransomware attacks
The Treasury Department accuses Suex OTC, S.R.O. of facilitating transactions involving illicit proceeds for at least eight ransomware variants, marking its first such move against a virtual currency exchange over ransomware activity.
Hackers use ransomware to take down systems that control everything from hospital billing to manufacturing. They stop only after receiving hefty payments, typically paid in cryptocurrency.
Attacks are increasing in scale, sophistication and scope, the Treasury said. In 2020 ransomware payments reached over $400 million, more than four times the level in 2019, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber, told reporters on the call.
Covid-19 has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu
Before COVID-19, the 1918-19 flu was universally considered the worst pandemic disease in human history. Whether the current scourge ultimately proves deadlier is unclear.
In many ways, the 1918-19 flu — which was wrongly named Spanish flu because it first received widespread news coverage in Spain — was worse.
”Soul-crushing”: US COVID-19 deaths topping 1,900 a day
Now, nearly 64 per cent of the US population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And yet, average deaths per day have climbed 40 per cent over the past two weeks, from 1,387 to 1,947, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Health experts say the vast majority of the hospitalised and dead have been unvaccinated. While some vaccinated people have suffered breakthrough infections, those tend to be mild.
Running out of time: UN report shows Earth on catastrophic path
Scientists have been increasingly vocal and specific about what will happen if the global temperature continues to rise. These predicted changes include everything from heat waves, wildfires, and flooding — already evident today — to conditions that may render coastal cities too wet and tropics too hot for sustained settlement.
Struggling economies, widening inequality and millions vulnerable: the urgent need for vaccine equity
Inequitable vaccine distribution is not only leaving millions or billions of people vulnerable to the deadly virus, it is also allowing even more deadly variants to emerge and spread across the globe.
Moreover, an unequal distribution of vaccines will deepen inequality and exaggerate the gap between rich and poor and will reverse decades of hard-won progress on human development.
WHO has set a global target of 70 per cent of the population of all countries to be vaccinated by mid-2022, but to reach this goal a more equitable access to vaccines will be needed.Research suggests that enough vaccines will be produced in 2021 to cover 70 per cent of the global population of 7.8 billion. More than 4.6 million people have died from the virus since it swept across the globe from the beginning of 2020, but it’s expected that the rate of people dying will slow if more people are vaccinated.
AM Best upgrades GIC Re’s credit rating outlook to stable, co’s balance sheet strength remains strong
GIC Re,with a global premium of $6,481 billion in 2020. is the 10th largest non-life reinsurer in the world and third largest reinsurer in Asia after China Re and Korea Re. The business profile assessment of favourable reflects GIC Re’s position as a leading reinsurer in India, with an approximate 75% market share based on ceded domestic written premium. The company continues to have close relationships with direct insurers in India, and local regulations provide GIC Re with a competitive advantage in obtaining domestic reinsurance placements.
In addition, the company maintains a geographically diversified underwriting portfolio, with over 35% of business sourced outside of India in fiscal year 2021.
EXPLAINER: Why World Bank is under fire over set of rankings
The report is important to many companies and investors around the world: They use the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report to help decide where to invest money, open manufacturing plants or sell products.
Eager to attract investment, countries around the world, especially developing economies, have sought to improve their rankings in the World Bank’s report.Sometimes, nations would pursue substantive policy changes — by, for example, making it easier for businesses to pay taxes, obtain loans or enforce contracts.