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Battery-Powered face mask seeks to fight Covid and foggy glasses

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , , ,

LG Electronics’ PuriCare Wearable, which comes in one size and weighs as much as a pair of ski goggles, features two fans and high-efficiency particle air filters that clean air coming in and exhaled breath going out.

As authorities increasingly urge the public use of face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, manufacturers have turned their attention to making such gear more comfortable without compromising safety.

DCGI issues notice to Serum Institute over Oxford’s Covid trial suspension

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , ,

“Whereas, Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, Pune, till now has not informed the Central licensing authority regarding pausing the clinical trial carried out by AstraZeneca in other countries and also not submitted casualty analysis of the reported serious adverse event with the investigational vaccine for the continuation of phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the subject vaccine in the country in light of the safety concerns,” said the show-cause notice accessed by PTI.

Lloyd’s to pay up to £5bn as gross COVID-19 claims

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , ,

John Neal, Lloyd’s CEO said: “The first half of 2020 has been an exceptionally challenging period for our people, our customers, and for economies around the world. The pandemic has inflicted catastrophic societal and economic damage calling for unparalleled measures to stifle the spread of the virus, and to get businesses and economies back on their feet. Our half year results demonstrate that our robust approach to performance management and remediation has begun to take effect, evidenced by a significant turnaround in the underlying performance metrics, which give the truest indication of our market’s profitability.”

COVID-19 “not a capital event”, 3% decline in global reinsurance capital in the first half of 2020: Willis Re

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , , , ,

Total capital dedicated to the global reinsurance industry was USD 587 billion at 30 June 2020, combined ratio worsened from 94.9% in the first half of 2019 to 104.1%, due to COVID-19 losses which added 11.1 percentage points to combined ratios on average. However, on an underlying basis i.e. normalising COVID-19 and catastrophe losses and excluding prior year reserve development, the combined ratio improved from 100.5% to 98.6%.
James Kent, Global CEO, Willis Re, said: “This half-year analysis shows a reinsurance market understandably in a state of change. While reinsurers have so far resiliently shouldered the combined effects of COVID-19 losses and investment market volatility, underlying profitability remains challenging. Uncertainty therefore remains, particularly over the potential impact of COVID-19 on long-tail lines, which is driving reinsurers to deliver additional improvement in underwriting returns. We expect to see further reinsurance market discipline as well as continued differentiation between regions and clients based on past performance and underlying risk.”

Learned from COVID-19 Pandemic to mitigate the risks of Climate Change?

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , , ,

The work to promote resiliency in the face of climate change must be collective in nature, with the insurance industry having an important role to play. Better risk transfer solutions and a higher take-up rate of insurance across communities means a faster recovery. The insurance industry has an advanced understanding of climate risk and extreme events, and its modelling, analyzing and forecasting capabilities offer vital insights to other participants in the resilience ecosystem, helping them better comprehend the risks, identify potential weaknesses and plot a course toward prevention.

Insurtech for assessing medical risk and cost of care raises $1.5mn

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , ,

i3 Systems is an Indian AI product company for insurers, to estimate the medical risk and cost of care. The products work seamlessly on digital and unformatted data in complex healthcare and financial documents. The startup plans to use the funds to advance technology that enables seamless adoption of their product across all repetitive business processes in the BFSI industry.

Alok Agarwal, CFO, Reliance Industries and Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, president, Mahindra Partners are co-investors in i3 systems along with Unitus Ventures

Insurers face threat as Amazon to enter motor insurance market:GlobalData

by | Sep 10, 2020 | , , ,

Yasha Kuruvilla, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Since customers are reluctant to purchase insurance from tech companies, partnering with a third-party provider is the better strategy, at least until they become recognized names in insurance. Amazon’s partnership with insurtech Acko rather than an incumbent also highlights the retailer’s desire to work with digital and agile companies. This will put added pressure on incumbents, not only due to the emergence of a new large entrant in the market, but also the need to digitalize if they want to work with tech companies in any other future insurance ventures.”

Companies face many acute challenges due to pandemic:AON

by | Sep 10, 2020 |

“This study demonstrates how companies are actively preparing for the future of work,” said Michael Burke, chief executive officer for Aon’s Human Capital business.

Key findings include HR professionals observing a strong link between diversity and inclusion and developing agile workforces

COVID-19 accelerates global supply chain restructuring:Swiss Re

by | Sep 10, 2020 | ,

The sigma report estimates the overall income effect from the higher growth created by supply chain restructuring will generate additional global premium volumes of around USD 63 billion cumulatively during the five-year transition period. This includes a one-time boost of USD 1.2 billion arising out of new demand for engineering covers during the construction phase of manufacturing facilities and associated infrastructure, and USD 9 billion for commercial insurance in the operational phase of the new facilities.