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BNP Paribas buys 9% of Ageas from Fosun for EUR730 Mln
“We see the strategic rationale for a combination of banking and...
Hong Kong approves first bitcoin, ethereum spot ETFs
The step comes just three months after the U.S. launched the first...
US and Canada transactional risk insurance market reaches record highs
From 2015 to 2019, rates for representations and warranties (R&W) insurance steadily declined. That trend, however, halted in 2020. 2020 marks the first year that primary rates are sitting above 3% since 2017, which we attribute principally to two factors: An increase in the frequency and severity of transactional risk claims.
“Surge pricing” during the flood of deal activity in the fourth quarter. Claims concerns continue to influence insurers’ approaches to pricing, and we expect rate increases to continue in the short-to-medium term.
Microsoft says ransom-seeking hackers taking advantage of server flaws
In Germany alone, officials have said that up to 60,000 networks remained vulnerable. All manner of hackers have begun taking advantage of the holes – one security firm recently counted 10 separate hacking groups using the flaws – but ransomware operators are among the most feared.
German ‘insurtech’ Wefox plans risk-prevention product
Using data from mobile phones or digital smart homes will make it possible to warn of looming danger, for example, to drivers from poor road conditions, or from leaving a window open at home when a storm is looming.
The risk prevention product will not crunch personal data to price Wefox’s products – a common complaint among younger drivers who often have to agree to digital surveillance to get an affordable insurance deal.
PwC survey ranks post-Brexit UK fourth most favoured investment destination, overtaking India
Britain’s attractions have changed as a result of “becoming a separate country and location”, Moritz told the Reuters Global Markets Forum, noting that U.S. and German companies appeared particularly favourable toward investing in the UK.
U.S. winter weather poised to exceed a record $10 billion in direct economic loss:Aon Cat Report
Steve Bowen, director and meteorologist on the Impact Forecasting team at Aon, said: “The unprecedented volume of winter weather impacts tied to the Polar Vortex across the United States in mid-February will result in a prolonged period of loss development, but will certainly end as the costliest insurance industry event for the peril on record. Despite being the coldest February for the contiguous U.S. in a generation, it marked only the 19th coldest February dating to the late 1800s. As the climate changes, such prolonged bouts of cold temperatures are likely to be less frequent, but the intensity of extreme cold events will grow more volatile. The impacts in Texas highlight the importance of infrastructure modernization and improved building code practices to better prepare for more unusual weather behavior in the future.”
US, India, Australia, Japan agree to send 1 bln vaccines across Asia by end-2022
India will use its manufacturing capacity to make U.S. vaccines, with financing coming from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Australia will finance training and provide last-mile logistical support for the distribution of vaccines, he added, that will predominantly go to the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia and countries in the Indian Ocean.
France’s biggest insurer dumps German power giant over coal
“By turning away one of Europe’s biggest utilities because they are too dependent on coal, AXA has set an important precedent for itself and other insurers,” said Peter Bosshard, finance program director at environmental nonprofit the Sunrise Project, adding that RWE must be an account worth millions of dollars a year in insurance.
China’s Microsoft hack, Russia’s SolarWinds attack threaten to overwhelm U.S.
The tactics used by China in particular leave victims vulnerable to other hackers. Victims could have their IT systems locked up by ransomware gangs, the personal information of their customers and employees stolen and sold to identity thieves, or their computers used to attack others.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine
“This is a super-cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe,” said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Not right time for ‘vaccine passports’: WHO
Addressing a press conference this week, WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan said that “at the present time the use of certification of vaccination as a requirement for travel is not advised because quite simply vaccination is just not available enough around the world and is not available certainly on an equitable basis.”