Category:

Non-Life

20 APAC re/insurers record a higher premium of $821.4bn in 2020, COVID induces demand for life & health products, GlobalData

Seven players reported more than 5% rise in premiums earned. In addition, the top companies maintained financial robustness through flexible hedging of assets under management.The most notable performers in the region were Japan-based insurer Dai-ichi Life, China-based New China Life Insurance and China Reinsurance; and Taiwan-based Cathay Financial.Dai-ichi Life outperformed the top players, with its revenue growth surpassing 20%, as the weaker Yen allowed the company’s returns from its investments soar significantly over the previous year.

China Reinsurance reported 19.2% increase in y-o-y revenue owing to swift growth in savings- and protection-type life, domestic P&C reinsurance, and health reinsurance business, which led to 16.2% growth in premium income; and obtaining surplus investment returns by surpassing the market benchmarks.

read more

Japan tests first autonomous cargo ship

The Nippon Foundation estimates that taking into account factors like artificial intelligence, which should improve efficiencies, the development of unmanned ships will have a positive impact of about 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) for Japan’s economy in 2040.
There are other foreseeable benefits too, such as lower insurance premiums and improved safety,Satoru Kuwahara, a general manager at Nippon Yusen subsidiary Japan Marine Science Inc, said.

Studies on shipping industry safety show that around 70% of maritime accidents are caused by human error. “With the issue of Japan’s shrinking workforce in mind, there’s growing need for these technologies to uphold safety,” he said.

read more

Green Sheen Environment Foundation offers AI-based Solutions to challenges in water secto

“Our population has quadrupled while water extraction has increased six-fold. Twelve per cent of India’s population is already living the ‘Day Zero’ scenario, thanks to excessive groundwater pumping, an inefficient and wasteful water management system and years of deficient rains,” says Chintan Mehta, Founder and Chairperson, Green Sheen Environment Foundation, and President of the Chicago-based Scad Consultants.

read more

Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana, knocking out power in New Orleans

U.S. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Louisiana, ordering federal assistance to bolster recovery efforts in more than two-dozen storm-stricken parishes. Ida slammed ashore around noon near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, a hub of the Gulf’s offshore energy industry, blasting the coast with hurricane-force winds extending 50 miles (80 km) out from the eye of the storm. Landfall came 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, one of the most catastrophic on record, struck the Gulf Coast.

read more

Covid-19 3rd wave could peak between Oct-Nov; intensity expected to be 1/4 of second wave

Manindra Agrawal, an IIT-Kanpur scientist who is part of the three-member team of experts that have been tasked with predicting any surge in infections, said if no new virulent emerges, then the situation is unlikely to change.

If the third wave peaks, the country may see only 1 lakh daily cases as against more than 4 lakh when the deadly second wave was at its peak in May. The second wave killed thousands and infected several lakh.

read more

ELEMENT and Parametrix launch innovative cloud outage insurance in Europe

Parametrix developed this unique insurance solution based on its proprietary monitoring technology that analyses the global performance and availability of cloud service providers’ down to the millisecond level. The highly advanced parametric system ensures an accurate and precise overview of risk accumulation and concentration across different IT-services and regions. Also, the monitoring system detects insured events in real time and triggers compensation with waiting periods as short as only one hour. This new insurance solution in the field of cyber and tech-related insurance is an innovative answer for companies to financial losses due to cloud outages.

read more

New Zealand’s Auckland stays in lockdown, officials report Pfizer-linked death

The health ministry on Monday announced a woman had died due to myocarditis, which is known to be a rare side effect of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle that can limit the organ’s ability to pump blood and can cause changes in heartbeat rhythms. The health ministry did not provide the woman’s age. Pfizer in New Zealand did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine contamination woes in Japan have widened with another million doses being suspended after foreign substances were found in more batches and two people died following shots from affected lots.

read more

Covid destroyed lives, heart-wrenching to see survival of kids at stake: SC

“We are glad that the UoI (Union of India) and the state governments/Union Territories have announced schemes to provide succour to the children in need. We have no doubt that the authorities concerned would leave no stone unturned to attend to the immediate basic needs of the crestfallen children, said a bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose.

The top court, which was hearing a suo motu matter on ‘Contagion of COVID-19 on children protection homes’, noted in its order that over one lakh children have lost either or both parents during the pandemic.

read more

Pent-up demand to push auto dealer volumes up by 10-15% in FY22: CRISIL

Dealers of two-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles expect sales to increase 10-15 per cent this fiscal on a low base of last fiscal, driven by new model launches, pent-up demand, and festive season sales, the survey revealed.
However, a possible third wave of COVID-19, spurt in fuel prices and supply constraints of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are seen among factors that could slow the sector down, CRISIL said on Monday.

read more