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International News

Swiss Re and PGGM enter into second private sidecar transaction

The transaction is a further milestone for Swiss Re’s Alternative Capital Partners team, which was formed in 2019 to manage Swiss Re’s third-party capital activities. Alternative Capital Partners enables Swiss Re to grow its natural catastrophe book and proactively manage its risk appetite by making use of a broad range of third-party capital and retrocession instruments.

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U.N. aid chief to G20 on coronavirus: ‘Step up now or pay price later’

The United Nations increased its humanitarian appeal by more than a third to $10.3 billion to help 63 states, mainly in Africa and Latin America, tackle the spread and destabilizing effects of the coronavirus. This is up from the world body’s initial $2 billion request in March, then $6.7 billion in May.

So far, Lowcock said, the United Nations has only received $1.7 billion.

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IMF chief warns global economy ‘not out of the woods,’ dangers lurk

The IMF last month further slashed its 2020 global output forecasts, predicting a 4.9% contraction and weaker-than-expected recovery in 2021.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said $11 trillion in fiscal measures by G20 members and other countries, as well as massive central bank liquidity injections, have put a floor under the global economy.

Even so, dangers lurked, she said, including a major new wave of infections, stretched asset valuations, volatile commodity prices, rising protectionism and political instability.

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Russia trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine data, say UK, U.S. and Canada

British foreign minister Dominic Raab said it was “completely unacceptable” for Russian intelligence services to target work on the pandemic.
However,the Kremlin rejected Western allegations Russia had tried to steal COVID-19 vaccine data, Russian news agencies reported.

TASS cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Russia had nothing to do any alleged hacker attacks on pharmaceutical companies and research institutes in Britain.

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A second wave could eat into insurers’ capital:S&P

Currently estimates of insured losses from COVID-19 vary and include V.J. Dowling’s $80 billion to the Lloyd’s estimate $107 billion and Willis Towers Watson’s $140 billion. The consensus is that the bulk of the losses will come from event insurance, business interruption and entertainment. S&P expects the bulk of claims to be reported in Q2 and Q3. However, it warns, losses could escalate if conditions worsen beyond the current recovery scenario.

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UK Plans to spend $6.6 billion on building flood defenses through 2027

Under the plans, the UK’s Flood Re insurance program will also be modified to allow claims to include the installation of flood resilience measures as well as repairs for affected properties.
“For every pound spent improving protection from flooding and coastal erosion, we avoid around 5 pounds of property damages,” Environment Agency Chairman Emma Howard Boyd said. “The long-term commitments announced today will make homes, businesses and infrastructure more resilient to the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.”

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Russia requires firms to develop financial/insurance contingency plans for oil spills

The law makes it mandatory for companies to have sufficient financial reserves to prevent potential spills or clean them up if they occur. The financial reserves can take various forms, including an insurance contract or a letter of guarantee to pay the damage from a given accident.The law also requires companies handling hydrocarbons to draw up plans to prevent and clean up spills by Jan.1, 2024.

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