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International News

EU regulator to test insurers for prolonged COVID economic hit

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said it will test 44 insurers and reinsurers for their resilience to the economic consequences of the pandemic and a “lower for longer” interest rate landscape.

Insurers are exposed to the economic environment through the returns they can earn from investing insurance premiums, as well as from the level of demand for their products.

“We are still in the middle of the crisis,” EIOPA Executive Director Fausto Parente told a media conference.

“The insurance sector is for sure not immune.”

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Global renewable energy grew at fastest pace in two decades in 2020 – IEA

New renewable energy capacity in 2020 rose by 45% to 280 gigawatts (GW) last year, the largest year-on-year increase since 1999, even though there were supply chain disruptions and construction delays due to the impact of COVID-19.

China accounted for 50% of renewable energy capacity growth last year and will account for 45% this year and 58% in 2022, the report said.

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Miller launches new exclusive Professional Indemnity product for freelance solicitors

Ed Pickard, Head of UK Professions, commented: “This new product will enable Miller to support freelance solicitors in accessing the coverage they need to operate. Our team of solicitors’ PI insurance specialists are excited to be able to offer this to our expanding portfolio of clients, and would encourage solicitors to get in touch to learn how Miller can find them the competitively priced cover they need to protect against claims and meet the requirements of the regulator.”

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Underwriters puzzle over how to make pandemics insurable again

U.S. company SpottedRisk has devised a model built on years of data on the political and economic environment of film locations in 150 countries, as well as a year’s COVID-19 shutdown data, to come up with a pricing mechanism to cover the risk of production stopping due to the pandemic.
Britain, the European Union and the United States are all looking at arrangements in which cover from commercial insurers would be backed by government reinsurance schemes. Such schemes could be less costly than business bailouts but the process of developing them is slow, as governments grapple with the problems at hand.

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French banks told to speed up response to climate change

Other financial watchdogs around the world will also be conducting similar tests on the finance industry to help to reduce the impact of climate change on economies. Banks and other finance companies will have to disclose to investors the impact of climate change on their balance sheets under proposed European Union rules.

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