Category:

Reinsurance

Olympic organisers must be flexible if coronavirus vaccine not ready in time, experts say

The Olympics was “a uniquely risky event”, he added, because of the threats represented by visitors streaming in from areas with a lot of infections, and the reverse flow when they return afterwards, perhaps carrying home infections.

Although more hopeful for a vaccine to be found within a year, Jason Kindrachuk, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Manitoba in Canada, flagged a risk of further delay to the Games, as vaccinating people would take time.

read more

Govt plans“Pandemic Pool” covering income loss of vulnerable section of the economy

The proposed “Pandemic Pool’’ will facilitate the transfer of the loss of income risk to the extent possible and can guarantee a regular pay-out for a specific time frame to these affected individuals so that liquidity can be maintained in the economy and people of the lower strata can sustain the crisis.The state government concerned at its level can sort insurance protection for this vulnerable section of the society. The economic risk associated with such outbreaks can thus be transferred to the insurance. 

The concept such a Pandemic Pool has recently been mooted by the Axa Re,the French multinational insurance company, said the central government sources. 

read more

COVID-19 Pandemic:Wave of class action lawsuits against insurers in US for denial of business interruption claims

The suits represent the broadest effort yet to compel insurance companies to fulfill promises made to hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses that purchased insurance coverage to protect against precisely this situation.

Lloyd’s of London, Aspen American Insurance, Auto-Owners Insurance, Society Insurance, Oregon Mutual Insurance, and Topa Insurance Company are Named in Lawsuits

read more

Some life insurers hit pause on older Americans during coronavirus crisis

Some insurers are also suspending applications for people in their 60s who previously may have been eligible for coverage despite common health problems such as diabetes or asthma.

Insuring older Americans can be a big risk for U.S. life insurers under the best of circumstances, but it brings in hefty premiums. A healthy 40-year-old woman pays about $180 annually for a $250,000 15-year term life policy, while a healthy 70-year-old woman pays $2,244, or 1,146% more, according to online brokerage Policygenius.

read more

Swiss Re can manage Covid-19 crisis,chairman

Swiss Re’s Chairman Walter B. Kielholz said“Despite the current circumstances, business is running without interruptions at Swiss Re as we continue to handle claims, renew contracts,share our knowledge and innovate. While at this point we assess the financial impact of the current crisis on Swiss Re as absolutely manageable, we run our business and allocate capital with the prudence that current volatility calls for.”

read more

Health and motor insurance renewal date further extended till May 15

“With a view to mitigate hardship to policyholders whose health&motor (3rd party) insurance policies are due for renewal during lockdown, Govt. has issued a notification allowing policyholders to make payments on or before 15.05.2020 towards renewal of their policies,” said Finance Minister N Sitharaman .

read more

Climate change risk will have transformative effect on Energy sector, Willis Towers Watson

In Asia, the Downstream insurance market continues to harden, with losses in countries, including Thailand and Korea. The gap in pricing between Asian and London-based markets is reducing significantly, especially with a majority of the Asian markets making headquarter referrals before underwriting a risk. There are also elements of domestic hardening in countries like Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines amongst others. At the same time, the Downstream market in China remains competitive for domestic risk following the Covid-19 lockdown and pandemic situation, which has affected supply and demand in the oil & gas industry.

read more

COVID-19 response ‘could bankrupt the insurance industry’: insurance defense lawyer

The problem for policyholders is that they’re required to show physical loss or damages to make a claim for business interruption. Typically, he said, insurers will pay out business interruption insurance if, for instance, a company has to shut down because of a fire or a natural disaster. Civil authority provisions cover shutdowns mandated by state or local governments in response to nearby disasters, such as a business that’s ordered to close its doors because of a chemical release at a manufacturing plant down the street, Badger said.

COVID-19 shutdowns, he said, don’t fit either of those scenarios. Policyholders whose businesses were closed because COVID-19 molecules were found on their premises may argue that the virus constituted physical damage. That will be a question for courts to decide, Badger said. But widespread shutdowns of uninfected businesses, in order to slow the spread of the virus, cannot trigger business interruption or civil authority coverage.

read more