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International News

Reinsurers raise $ 22 billion capital in 2020,booked $20b of COVID-19 related losses:Willis Re

In the first nine months of 2020 the global (re)insurers which Willis Re  track booked $20b of COVID-19 related losses. This remains considerably below the c.$68b mid-point of top-down loss estimates for the global non-life industry. More is coming with Q4 results with, for example, Munich Re announcing on 1 December that it will book an additional c.€1.1b, said the report. 

A number of (re)insurers have included a significant Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) component in their booked losses due to considerable uncertainty around ultimate COVID-19 losses. This uncertainty is due in part to pending legal rulings, particularly in relation to business interruption (BI) covers, which will decide if and how COVID-19 related claims should be covered.

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Cyber risk is new threat to financial stability: IMF

“Given strong financial and technological inter-connections, a successful attack on a major financial institution — or on a core system or service used by many — could quickly spread through the entire financial system, causing widespread disruption and loss of confidence.” said Jennifer Elliott and Nigel Jenkinson of IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department

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Munich Re’s “Ambition 2025” sets new growth and results targets

Return on equity to increase to 12–14% by 2025
Solvency ratio to remain in the ideal corridor of 175–220%
Extensive decarbonisation strategy: Shifting away from coal, oil and natural gas“

“With our Munich Re Group Ambition 2025, we’ve created a strategy that is uniform across the Group – spanning reinsurance, primary insurance and asset management. We have committed ourselves to ambitious financial targets, and we will continue adding value for our shareholders, clients, staff and communities. The Munich Re Group Ambition 2025 will help us to elevate Munich Re to a new level of success.”said  Joachim Wenning,Chairman of the Board of Management

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Emissions hit new record, put world on track for 3C warming – U.N

“The year 2020 is on course to be one of the warmest on record, while wildfires, storms and droughts continue to wreak havoc,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director.

The annual “emissions gap” report measures the gap between anticipated emissions and those consistent with limiting the global temperature rise this century as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

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Antitrust lawsuits could force Facebook to sell Instagram and WhatsApp

The lawsuits are the biggest antitrust cases in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp in 1998. The federal government eventually settled that case, but the yearslong court fight and extended antitrust scrutiny prevented the company from thwarting competitors and is credited with clearing the way for the explosive growth of the internet.

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French insurers to freeze premiums for sectors hardest hit by virus

Under pressure from  French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire,insurers faced the prospect of being hit by a 1.2 billion euro ($1.45 billion) tax if they did not offer to keep premiums steady next year.

Le Maire, who had been concerned some insurers were preparing to hike premiums, said the freeze would benefit hotels, restaurants and bars as well as firms in the tourism, sports, culture and events industries.

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Prudence Foundation launches 2nd edition of its Tech Awards to find life-saving technologies for disaster resilience

Winners will have access to financial support, coaching and networking opportunities to help scale their innovative technology solutions
Since 2000, more than 40 per cent of global disaster events have taken place in the Asia Pacific region, resulting in around 800,000 deaths and affecting 3.2 billion people. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected more than 11 million people and expected to result in over $2.7 trillion in economic losses[ has magnified the importance of disaster preparedness and collaboration across all sectors in reducing the threat and impact of natural disaster events.

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