Category:

Reinsurance

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions to write direct insurance in S. Africa

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Africa said it will underwrite some of the largest and most complex risks in South Africa across a broad spectrum of industries. With a focus on mid- and large-sized corporate customers, the company provides commercial insurance services primarily in the property, engineering & construction, energy (operational power including renewable energy & operational mining), casualty, bank trade & infrastructure, surety, and financial & professional liability lines of business.

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Global litigation financiers plan India entry to target company disputes

The concept of litigation finance is widely prevalent in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States where such financiers pay legal fees and other costs of commercial lawsuits, arbitration or shareholder disputes and in return get a share of the award from a settlement or a win.
Some of the world’s top litigation financiers like Australia’s Omni Bridgeway and a unit of U.S. insurance broker Marsh Inc plan to tap the Indian market by funding the legal costs of disputes that embroil companies, executives told Reuters.

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When $2 trillion falls short, the next 2020 may be uninsurable

At the core is the reality that the global non-life insurance industry’s US$2 trillion in capital won’t last in a “black swan” event, such as a cyberattack or another pandemic, that hobbles the global economy.
Insurance markets for events, travel and business interruption have all been roiled by the virus. For those looking to protect against the possibility of pandemics, most will find that firms are offering few safeguards going forward.

Allianz, Europe’s biggest insurer, said it will focus on tightening up contracts to exclude pandemics. Munich Re has stopped selling business-interruption policies that cover coronavirus losses.

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Reinsurers raise $ 22 billion capital in 2020,booked $20b of COVID-19 related losses:Willis Re

In the first nine months of 2020 the global (re)insurers which Willis Re  track booked $20b of COVID-19 related losses. This remains considerably below the c.$68b mid-point of top-down loss estimates for the global non-life industry. More is coming with Q4 results with, for example, Munich Re announcing on 1 December that it will book an additional c.€1.1b, said the report. 

A number of (re)insurers have included a significant Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) component in their booked losses due to considerable uncertainty around ultimate COVID-19 losses. This uncertainty is due in part to pending legal rulings, particularly in relation to business interruption (BI) covers, which will decide if and how COVID-19 related claims should be covered.

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Munich Re’s “Ambition 2025” sets new growth and results targets

Return on equity to increase to 12–14% by 2025
Solvency ratio to remain in the ideal corridor of 175–220%
Extensive decarbonisation strategy: Shifting away from coal, oil and natural gas“

“With our Munich Re Group Ambition 2025, we’ve created a strategy that is uniform across the Group – spanning reinsurance, primary insurance and asset management. We have committed ourselves to ambitious financial targets, and we will continue adding value for our shareholders, clients, staff and communities. The Munich Re Group Ambition 2025 will help us to elevate Munich Re to a new level of success.”said  Joachim Wenning,Chairman of the Board of Management

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Munich Re to no longer cover events cancelled for pandemics

The world’s largest resinsurer is making the change after it faced large losses this year in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Torsten Jeworrek, who oversees the reinsurance segment, said that Munich Re would remain in the business but that the tweak in its strategy was a result of the pandemic. The resinsurer will also adjust prices for event cancellation coverage, he said.

The cancellation and postponement of sports events like the Olympics in Tokyo as well as concerts have been a major burden for Munich Re, which expects a total of 4 billion euros ($4.85 billion) in COVID-related losses.

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Get used to limited access, EU tells City of London bankers & insurers

Brexit makes it “even more urgent” for the EU to develop its own capital market to cut reliance on the City of London, Europe’s biggest financial centre, Mairead McGuinness said.

Britain’s full access to the EU ends on Dec. 31 when a transition period that followed Brexit in January expires.
Many banks, asset managers and insurers in London have opened hubs in the bloc to avoid disruption to clients from limited direct access from the UK.

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Global reinsurance market outlook stable, reinsurance capital exceeds $470 billion in 2020:AM Best

In its new Best’s Market Segment Report, “Market Segment Outlook: Global Reinsurance,” AM Best states that the current market hardening likely will need to continue for at least a couple of years to have a meaningful impact on the segment. Additionally, pricing momentum will have to be sufficient to offset losses from previous years, including the impact of COVID-19 and ongoing impact from social inflation.

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