Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the commercial insurance arm of the Swiss Re Group, has announced the launch of HazeShield, a standalone haze insurance solution for Singaporean businesses.
The parametric-based solution leverages data from Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) Pollutant Standard Index (PSI), to allow the triggering of a pre-agreed payout amount on an individual basis.
HazeShield does not require loss investigations or adjustments and can be provided for two scenarios: a prolonged or extreme PSI level.
Numerous severe haze outbreaks have struck Southeast Asia over the past two decades, largely due to the burning of peat forests in the region.
Total economic losses from the last two significant events in Singapore estimated at nearly $1.3 billion.
Of this, nearly $900 million stemmed from the 2015 the Southeast Asian haze crisis which predominantly impacted Singapore’s transportation, tourism, health and education sectors.
“The financial consequences of a haze event can be severe, especially when businesses need to suspend operations or close,” said Didier Bélot, Head Southeast Asia at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
“Up until now, conventional property insurance did not cover the financial losses resulting from a haze event. We designed HazeShield to bridge this gap, address a local issue and provide an extra layer of resilience.”
While governments and the private sector have made significant efforts to reduce haze, these will need time to fully take effect. In the interim, solutions like this may help ease the financial impact to businesses.
“In developing the solution with clients, we found that a range of industries, including transportation and tourism, are concerned about the financial impact from a severe haze event,” said Andre Martin, Head of Innovative Risk Solutions Asia Pacific at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
“HazeShield complements traditional property insurance policies, giving clients a broader coverage with claims payment certainty and quick access to liquidity.”
