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China’s population drops for 2nd year, raises long-term growth concerns
The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people...
Climate change may claim 14.5 mn lives by 2050: WEF
Flooding alone is estimated to cause 8.5 million deaths by 2050,...
Lloyd’s to pay up to £5bn as gross COVID-19 claims
John Neal, Lloyd’s CEO said: “The first half of 2020 has been an exceptionally challenging period for our people, our customers, and for economies around the world. The pandemic has inflicted catastrophic societal and economic damage calling for unparalleled measures to stifle the spread of the virus, and to get businesses and economies back on their feet. Our half year results demonstrate that our robust approach to performance management and remediation has begun to take effect, evidenced by a significant turnaround in the underlying performance metrics, which give the truest indication of our market’s profitability.”
Global annual average Cat losses rise almost 8 times to $ 200 billion in 50 yrs:Study
The quality of recovery for very high and high insurance penetration countries is better than pre-loss levels, and the reverse is true for countries with lower insurance penetration although the differences are quite small. There is potential for product development in terms of “building back better”.
COVID-19 “not a capital event”, 3% decline in global reinsurance capital in the first half of 2020: Willis Re
Total capital dedicated to the global reinsurance industry was USD 587 billion at 30 June 2020, combined ratio worsened from 94.9% in the first half of 2019 to 104.1%, due to COVID-19 losses which added 11.1 percentage points to combined ratios on average. However, on an underlying basis i.e. normalising COVID-19 and catastrophe losses and excluding prior year reserve development, the combined ratio improved from 100.5% to 98.6%.
James Kent, Global CEO, Willis Re, said: “This half-year analysis shows a reinsurance market understandably in a state of change. While reinsurers have so far resiliently shouldered the combined effects of COVID-19 losses and investment market volatility, underlying profitability remains challenging. Uncertainty therefore remains, particularly over the potential impact of COVID-19 on long-tail lines, which is driving reinsurers to deliver additional improvement in underwriting returns. We expect to see further reinsurance market discipline as well as continued differentiation between regions and clients based on past performance and underlying risk.”
Insurers face threat as Amazon to enter motor insurance market:GlobalData
Yasha Kuruvilla, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Since customers are reluctant to purchase insurance from tech companies, partnering with a third-party provider is the better strategy, at least until they become recognized names in insurance. Amazon’s partnership with insurtech Acko rather than an incumbent also highlights the retailer’s desire to work with digital and agile companies. This will put added pressure on incumbents, not only due to the emergence of a new large entrant in the market, but also the need to digitalize if they want to work with tech companies in any other future insurance ventures.”
AstraZeneca suspends leading COVID-19 vaccine trials after a participant’s illness
The vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, has been described by the World Health Organization as probably the world’s leading candidate and the most advanced in terms of development. The suspension dims prospects for an early rollout amid reports that the United States was aiming for a fast-track approval before the November presidential election.
“SCOR well positioned to capture profitable growth opportunities”:Kessler
Kessler commented: “With the Covid-19 pandemic, SCOR has once again demonstrated its capacity to absorb major shocks combined with the resilience of its business model. Regarding the assessment of our exposure to the Covid-19 pandemic that we provided at the end of July 2020, on the P&C side, claims are developing as expected. On the life side, at this stage, claims experience is emerging better than expected. In addition, the pandemic has also exacerbated society’s growing aversion to risk, creating the conditions to drive stronger growth for the reinsurance industry.
First batch of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V released into public
“The first batch of the ‘Gam-COVID-Vac’ (Sputnik V) vaccine for the prevention of the new coronavirus infection, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, has passed the necessary quality tests in the laboratories of Roszdravnadzor (medical device regulator) and has been released into civil circulation,” the ministry said in a statement.
Boeing finds new problem with 787 that will delay deliveries
Boeing has recorded its first orders of the year for the grounded 737 Max, but a new flaw has surfaced in another of its planes, compounding the company’s struggle to recover during a pandemic that has undercut demand for new jetliners.
UK PM plans law banning large gatherings as COVID-19 cases rise
“We need to act now to stop the virus spreading. So we are simplifying and strengthening the rules on social contact making them easier to understand and for the police to enforce,It is absolutely critical that people now abide by these rules and remember the basics washing your hands, covering your face, keeping space from others, and getting a test if you have symptoms,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Global Coronavirus deaths hit 9,00,000 as cases surge in India
An average of more than 5,600 people die each day from COVID-19, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the last two weeks. The rate of deaths is holding steady taking 18 days to climb from 800,000 to 900,000 deaths. It took 17 days to go from 700,000 to 800,000.