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Life

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SoftBank-backed Lemonade raises $319 million in IPO

Lemonade, started in late 2016, says it has digitized the entire insurance process, replacing brokers and paperwork with algorithms. It says it provides insurance policies to homeowners and renters in as little as 90 seconds and claim payments in three minutes.The IPO values Lemonade at $1.6 billion. That is less than the $2.1 billion it was valued at last year, after it raised $300 million in a funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank and which included insurer Allianz SE and Alphabet Inc’s venture capital arm GV. Lemonade has pursued breakneck revenue growth at the expense of widening losses.

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FWD completes MetLife Hong Kong acquisition

FWD will be renaming and rebranding the newly acquired businesses in the next few months.  At the same time, MetLife Hong Kong will continue to operate through all its existing channels across its businesses.  All existing MetLife Hong Kong policies will continue to be honoured by FWD following the change in ownership.

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IRDA likely to implement new Indian Accounting Standard in the insurance sector soon

In its recent board meeting the IRDA discussed, the status of implementation of the Ind AS in the insurance sector in India and had taken the following decisions on the matter of Ind AS.
 -approval of implementation of Ind AS 109 and IFRS 17 equivalent in India simultaneously,along with other applicable Ind AS,
– re-visit existing regulations on preparation of financial statements, 
– direct the insurers to discontinue submission of proforma Ind AS financial statements being filed effective quarter ending 31st December, 2016 and 
-to decide on the date for implementation of all applicable Ind ASs after the finalization of IFRS 17 by IASB which is expected during mid 2020.

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Global investors including insurers urge Brazil to stop deforestation

The 25 European signatories include Norway’s Nordea Asset Management and the Church of England, which has a 2.8 billion pound ($3.5 billion) pension fund. The UK’s Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is among the largest investors with 1.2 trillion pounds under management.
The letter does not spell out consequences if Brazil’s government does not take action, but seven European financial firms told Reuters last week they could divest from Brazil-linked holdings if environmental destruction continues. Many of those firms also signed the letter to embassies.

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Insurers’ debt remains attractive to investors during COVID-19 uncertainty:S&P

Following the redemption of about $25 billion of debt between January and May 2020, the sector is set to refinance nearly $140 billion by the end of 2021 ($52 billion between June and December 2020, including about $23 billion of hybrids with upcoming call dates during this period). Half of this is due to hybrids reaching call dates and the remainder is debt coming to maturity. We recognize some insurers have already pre-financed upcoming calls or maturities,” said a S&P analysis. 

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