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International News

Lloyd’s launches pioneering parametric earthquake insurance policy in New Zealand

The new product Bounce is designed to provide New Zealanders with affordable earthquake insurance and fast claims payments, to support customers’ needs following an earthquake and quickly cover immediate expenses incurred. It does this by tracking Peak Ground Velocity (PGV) which triggers payment at levels of 20 centimetres per second and above.

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Danish Red Cross launches world’s first cat bond for volcanic eruptions

Sponsored by the Danish Red Cross with support from insurance group Howden Group Holdings, the cat bond catastrophe bond aims to transform the way disaster aid is activated and deployed by mobilizing humanitarian assistance from global capital markets.

The cat bond aims to raise up to $3 million from investors for aid in the aftermath of an eruption. Initial investors are three insurance linked securities (ILS) specialists, Plenum Investments, Schroder Investment Management and Solidum Partners.By using advanced modeling developed by Mitiga Solutions and blockchain technology developed by Replexus, the bond will raise humanitarian funds in advance, and allow aid to be released more quickly and effectively while offering uncorrelated returns for investors.

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Asia accelerates AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine rollouts, even as trust plunges in Europe

The AstraZeneca shot was among the first and cheapest of the Covid-19 vaccines to be developed and launched at volume and is set to be the mainstay of vaccination programmes in much of the developing world.

But its brief suspension raised concerns that a slowdown in vaccination rollouts could hurt the global fight against the pandemic, as coronavirus cases surge in some countries, overwhelming healthcare systems and hurting economies.

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Heavy rains in Australia’s east bring worst floods in 50 years

“Yesterday, we were hoping it will only be a one-in-20-year event, now it looks like a one-in-50-year event,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a televised briefing. People in parts of Sydney’s northwest were ordered to flee their houses in the middle of the night as fast-moving waters caused widespread destruction. Late on Sunday, about another 1,000 people were asked to evacuate, after Berejiklian said that some 4,000 people may be asked to leave their houses.

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