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International News

China’s new three-child policy draws scepticism, cost questions

James Liang, a professor at Peking University’s School of Economics and founder of online travel giant Trip.com Group, last month urged China to give parents of each newborn 1 million yuan to lift a fertility rate of just 1.3 children per woman in 2020. That rate is in line with countries such as Japan and Italy and far short of the 2.1 replacement rate.

He said this week that China would need to spend about 5% of GDP, compared with “practically 0% now”, in cash, tax breaks, housing subsidies, daycare, and other incentives to get the fertility rate up to about 1.6, and expects the government soon to step up building day-care centers and kindergartens. Developed counties typically spend 1% to 4% of GDP on such support, he said.

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Covid-19 claims cost life reinsurers billions

The biggest costs for life reinsurers came from the US and to a lesser extent the UK and Canada but claims from other countries including South Africa and in Latin America added to the costs. Life reinsurers only have limited exposure to India.
BI estimates Swiss Re accounted for around 35% of claims followed by Reinsurance Group of America on 27% but the decline in deaths should mean much lower claims for the second half of the year.

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Howden launches Parhelion, world’s first fully sustainable insurer

Against the backdrop of an insurance industry starved of truly sustainable capacity, Parhelion’s new and diversified ESG products will meet the risk financing needs of a greener economy. 

The new business has been seeded by Howden and will match the surge in institutional capital seeking sustainable investment strategies with the growing demand from corporates looking for an insurance provider to support their journey towards ESG transition and a more resilient future.
At the end of 2020, over $40tn of assets globally were invested in ESG-aligned and sustainable impact strategies, nearly double the amount invested just four years earlier*, but very little has been deployed across the (re)insurance industry.

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Willis Towers Watson launches new Sports and Entertainment Industry Group

Ian Tomlin, Head of Accident & Health, Willis Towers Watson commented, “We are excited to launch the Sports & Entertainment industry group, which will align a breadth of expertise across the network to offer the sector a new comprehensive, global approach to risk management. We are delighted to be working across the global sports industry as well as supporting event organisers and production companies in partnership with the Willis Towers Watson Leisure and Hospitality Practice.”

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Covid-19 variant 1st reported in India threatens to rapidly spread in sub-region: UNHCR

“. ,“We are particularly worried about the situation in the Asia and Pacific region, which in the past two months has experienced the largest increase in the number of cases globally.The highly infectious variant of the virus which first emerged in India threatens to rapidly spread in the sub-region, including among refugee populations.Over this period, there have been some 38 million recorded Covid-19 cases and more than half a million deaths, the UNHCR spokesperson said.” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said

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