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International News

7% growth in global reinsurance capital in 2020, combined ratios improve: Willis Re

James Kent, Global CEO, Willis Re, said: “Such a solid development of the global reinsurance industry’s capital base would hardly have been expected earlier last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic was gathering pace.  Willis Re’s analysis provides clear evidence of the strength and resilience of reinsurance market capacity.  Reinsurers and insurers alike must contend with the challenges of low interest rates.  But, looking through the turbulence of COVID-19 and nat cat claims, and a declining reliance on reserve releases, there is a clear improving trend in underwriting profitability.”

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Aon launches innovative industry collaboration to protect global COVID-19 vaccine shipments

The solution provides transparent cargo insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines by combining sensor data and analytics. The offering enhances All Risk Marine Cargo insurance with timely payment for doses that fall outside of the agreed-upon temperature range while being transported or stored, enabling more effective risk management and claims support. Real-time reporting of any temperature deviation will also provide for the mitigation of losses and help maximize the number of doses that are administered to the public.

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Fed chair says cyberattacks main risk to US economy

Powell stressed that the Federal Reserve was considering different types of scenarios: “There are scenarios in which a large payment utility, for example, breaks down and the payment system can’t work. Payments can’t be completed. There are scenarios in which a large financial institution would lose the ability to track the payments that it’s making and things like that,” he said.

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Nepal battles worst forest fires in years as air quality drops

A senior official of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said that wildfires were burning in at least 60 places across 22 of Nepal’s 77 administrative districts. 
The air quality index (AQI) in Kathmandu was at an unhealthy level of 174 on Friday, according to data published on iqair.com, a site that monitors air quality. An AQI level below 50 is considered good.

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Covid-19 vaccine shortages hit 60 poor countries in ‘shocking imbalance’

On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization slammed the “shocking imbalance” in global COVID-19 vaccination. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said that while one in four people in rich countries had received a vaccine, only one in 500 people in poorer countries had gotten a dose

The vaccine shortage stems mostly from India’s decision to stop exporting vaccines from its Serum Institute factory, which produces the overwhelming majority of the AstraZeneca doses that COVAX counted on to supply around a third of the global population at a time coronavirus is spiking worldwide.

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