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EU must prepare for ‘catastrophic’ climate change risks, agency says
Without more urgent action, the EEA said most of the 36 climate...
Generali and UNDP build SME resilience in Asia
A joint research report by Generali and the UNDP report finds that...
Europe’s drugs watchdog expects first marketing application for coronavirus vaccine in days
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) did not name the company it expects to file the application, but Pfizer Inc and BioNTEch are the most advanced in the regulatory process among the three companies that have published late-stage trial data for their vaccines.
World agonises over new COVID curbs as infections approach 60 million
an approved vaccine is unlikely to be widely available for months while scientists insist on the continued need for vigilance and politicians consider curbs for Christmas amid a second wave of the pandemic.
Fintechs seen eating into market share of established insurers, EU says
Insurers and reinsurers such as AXA and Munich Re have been investing in so-called insurtech companies, considered a faster way for them to adapt to technology changes.
Stephen Catlin, chairman and chief executive of Convex, a newcomer to the insurance, told the event that fintech firms faced a learning curve to compete with established players.
AIA pares coal investments, faces environment group scrutiny
The Hong Kong-based insurer said it decided to end all direct equity investments in coal mining and coal-fired power producers earlier this year, according to an emailed statement Tuesday.
SCOR CEO sees double-digit reinsurance rate rises
“All conditions are met today for rate increases,” he said.
Kessler said the cost of the pandemic was mostly already accounted for in the reinsurer’s previously published loss estimates. If there was a third wave the company would revise its assumptions, he added.
Global coronavirus cases surpass 60 million infections
An analysis of the Reuters data showed the rate of new infections picking up globally. It took just 17 days to go from 50 million cases to 60 million, compared with the 21 days it took to go from 40 million to 50 million. Around 580,000 cases have been reported each day over the past week and around half of all cases since the start of the pandemic were reported over the past 70 days.
In Europe, 1 million new cases were recorded over just five days, for a total of more than 16 million cases, including 365,000 deaths.
Cost of one dose of the Sputnik V vaccine will be less than $10 for international markets
The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different vectors based on the human adenovirus, which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to vaccines using one and same vector for two doses.
Covid passports seen as key to resuming international travel
A test program will begin with British Airways parent IAG SA this year before arriving on Apple Inc. devices in the first quarter of 2021 and Android from April, IATA said. Travelers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning.
“We need to have global rules and standards” on measures like rapid testing and vaccination so there can be a “step forward” for the industry, Pieter Elbers, the head of the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said in a Bloomberg TV interview Tuesday. The health advances “will definitely help to restore confidence in travel.”
As more countries pledge zero emissions, coal finance evaporates
With insurance companies, banks and other financiers pulling out of coal “we are seeing a real tide of all these forces moving in capital markets,” Lachlan Shaw, head of commodities research at ANZ, said at the virtual Coaltrans Asia conference.
“What’s changed more recently is we have seen China, Japan and South Korea all commit to net-zero carbon emissions targets,” he said.
Aviva exits Italian life insurance unit in $475-million sale
Blanc announced in August that Aviva would focus on its operations in the U.K., Ireland and Canada, signaling that underperforming units in other countries could be disposed of. The company sold control of its Singapore business in September and is also pursuing a sale of its French unit.
The deal adds to a flurry of recent insurance activity, topped by last week’s $9.6 billion takeover of RSA Insurance Group Plc in the biggest acquisition of a U.K.-listed company this year. On Friday, Zurich Insurance Group AG revealed it’s in talks to buy MetLife Inc.’s U.S. property and casualty unit.