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OMAC is hull insurance carrier for sunken yacht in Sicily
The global yacht insurance market has faced significant challenges...
APAC: Climate change response held back by insufficient data
“The deadly heat waves and catastrophic floods we’ve seen in recent...
UK’s Sunak wants insurers to explore products for social care costs
Social care refers to long-term health care outside hospitals.Sunak has asked officials to work with insurers to consider “new products” that can help with social care costs, the treasury source said.
“We’re hopeful that in time the cap on costs will provide the clarity insurers need to create new products,” the source said.
Cybersecurity seen as rising risk for airlines after 9/11
the embrace of digital technology has created new opportunities for trouble, with hackers able to penetrate systems through suppliers’ software, online services or WiFi offered to passengers.
Experts consider the potential for a hacker to take control of the plane itself as unlikely, since flight controls are separate from systems used by customers.
U.S. lawmakers seek $1 bln to fund FTC privacy probes
The proposal, which Democrats plan to include in a $3.5 trillion spending measure, would fund a new bureau over 10 years to address “unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to privacy, data security, identity theft, data abuses, and related matters,” according to a summary released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The committee will meet on Monday to take up the wide-ranging spending proposal that includes $30 billion to remove lead pipes and $13.5 billion for zero emissions vehicle infrastructure buildout.
Nerve disorder listed as ‘very rare’ side effect of AstraZeneca jab
Guillain-Barre Syndrome was a “very rare” side effect, occurring in under one in 10,000 people, it added. The disorder is a nerve inflammation that may cause temporary paralysis and difficulty breathing. In the United States, the very rare syndrome affects an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people each year and most go on to recover.
The US Food and Drug Administration also warned in July of an “increased risk” of developing the neurological syndrome with Johnson & Johnson’s dose. Both regulators stressed that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed the potential
Covid-19 Pandemic risks worsening on Africa variants, scientists say
A study of genomes from 33 African nations and two “overseas territories,” published in the journal Science on Thursday, tracks the evolution of the pandemic across the continent and the emergence of a number of so-called Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest. One of those, beta, spread around the globe earlier this year and rendered some vaccines partially ineffective.
The “slow rollout of vaccines in most African countries creates an environment in which the virus can replicate and evolve,” the organizations said. “This will almost certainly produce additional VOCs, any of which could derail the global fight against Covid-19.”
Strengthening health emergency security systems top priority: WHO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges. No country globally was prepared enough to deal with an emergency of this scale. It is critical that lessons from the ongoing pandemic are used to inform our efforts to strengthen health security systems,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, at the Seventy-Fourth Regional Committee meeting.
Ida likely to become one of the costliest U.S. hurricanes: Aon
Steve Bowen, managing director and head of Catastrophe Insight on the Impact Forecasting team at Aon, said: “As larger-scale disasters occur with more intensity and subsequently result in greater impacts, this has put a spotlight on areas where gaps lie in humanitarian and insurance protection. This is true regardless of whether a country is identified as developed or emerging. Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic impacts in the United States highlighted how much work is yet to be done to better insure around inland and coastal flooding. An even greater gap is found in Haiti following the major earthquake that once again has the country facing a challenging recovery. How governmental bodies work with private sector groups to improve hazard protection and aim to better and more smartly rebuild will be key to lowering future natural peril risk.”
Sweeping new vaccine mandates for 100 million Americans
“We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” President Joe Biden said, all but biting off his words. The unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of damage, and they are.”
Swiss Re sees growing demand for insurance protection, positive outlook for premiums
According to Swiss Re Institute, non-life insurance premiums are expected to be 10% higher than the pre-COVID-19 level by the end of 2021. Heightened risk trends will increase the need for insurance protection, but also require a greater focus on evaluating and modelling, and ensuring pricing is adequate for the risks taken.
Lloyd’s reports strong H1 2021 results with pre-tax profit of £1.4bn and 92.2% combined ratio
Premium rates increased by 9.9%, continuing the trend of 15 consecutive quarters of positive rate movement.
The combined ratio of 92.2% (HY 2020: 110.4% and 97.0% excluding COVID-19 claims) is a solid improvement with a 4.8 percentage point reduction on the previous year, excluding COVID-19. These results demonstrate the substantial turnaround of Lloyd’s profitability and performance.
Lloyd’s continued to provide significant support to its customers around the world, paying £9.4bn of claims, including to customers impacted by COVID-19 where 80% of the claims notified to date have been paid.