Reinsurance News
Coronavirus news
Coronavirus news coverage of relevance to reinsurance and insurance markets.
All of our Covid-19 coronavirus news, analysis and insight related to insurance and reinsurance market impacts can be found below.
The coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic of 2019-20 resulted in significant disruption and threatened losses widely across the insurance and reinsurance markets.
Ratings of UK insurers to be unaffected by BI ruling, says Fitch
18th January 2021
Fitch has said that the ratings of UK non-life insurers are likely to be unaffected by last week's Supreme Court judgement on the validity of business interruption (BI) claims related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Supreme Court upheld the judgement on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) BI insurance ... Read the full article
UK business interruption ruling pushes QBE further into reinsurance cover
18th January 2021
Australia-based re/insurer QBE has said that the UK Supreme Court’s verdict on business interruption (BI) cases linked to the pandemic will push it further into its aggregate reinsurance protection. Last week, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the ruling on the BI test case first brought forward by the Financial ... Read the full article
LIIBA CEO calls for greater clarity following Supreme Court BI ruling
18th January 2021
LIIBA Chief Executive Officer Christopher Croft has called for the industry to introduce absolute clarity into the products customers buy, following The UK Supreme Court's decision to uphold the COVID-19 business interruption test case ruling. Via a live video link this morning, a UK Supreme Court representative announced the decision ... Read the full article
RSA expects reinsurance to apply following Court’s BI ruling
15th January 2021
Insurer RSA Insurance Group plc has said that following the UK Supreme Court's ruling on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) business interruption (BI) insurance test case, reinsurance protection is expected to come into play. The Court upheld the judgement on the FCA's BI insurance test case at the appeal stage, ... Read the full article
Hiscox adds $48mn to Covid-19 BI losses following Supreme Court judgement
15th January 2021
Specialist re/insurer Hiscox has said that after the Supreme Court's ruling in favour of insureds earlier today in the appeal of the business interruption (BI) insurance test case, it has added a further $48 million, net of reinsurance, to its 2020 estimate for COVID-19 BI losses. This morning, the UK ... Read the full article
UK Supreme Court upholds business interruption judgement
15th January 2021
The UK Supreme Court has upheld the judgement on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) business interruption (BI) insurance test case. The financial regulator brought the case forward in May to seek legal clarity on whether insurers were obligated to pay out on BI claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the UK ... Read the full article
RenRe warns of Q4 operating loss amid $345mn weather & COVID impact
14th January 2021
Bermuda-based reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RenRe) has reported that losses from weather-related catastrophe events and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will push the firm to a fourth-quarter operating loss. The reinsurer has announced that estimated losses from catastrophe events will have a net negative impact of roughly $170 million on its Q4 ... Read the full article
Findings from FCA’s Covid-19 resilience survey “concerning” says the CII
11th January 2021
Keith Richards, Chief Membership Officer of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), has expressed concern over some of the findings from the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) coronavirus financial resilience survey. In an effort to understand the real-time effect the ongoing pandemic is having on the finances of companies in the UK, the ... Read the full article
Gallagher’s Nigel Weyman outlines “challenging” aviation renewals
11th January 2021
Nigel Weyman, Aerospace Global Executive at re/insurance broker Gallagher has reported that aviation renewal negotiations were particularly challenging this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking as part of Gallagher’s Plane Talking Q4 edition, Weyman described the market as facing a “perfect storm” over 2020 as the coronavirus ... Read the full article
COVID-19 a catalyst for US property rates at 1/1: Willis Re
6th January 2021
Willis Re has reported that COVID-19 was a catalyst for further rate increases at the January 1 reinsurance renewals for US property re/insurers, building on pricing momentum already gained through 2019. Terms and conditions also tightened, however placements were completed at rates lower than anticipated as capital raises, start-up reinsurers and ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s to close underwriting room again
5th January 2021
Insurance and reinsurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London has announced that its underwriting room will be closed once again following the introduction of new lockdown measures in the UK this week. The UK Government re-introduced lockdown restrictions yesterday in a bid to control the more infectious COVID-19 variant that has spread in ... Read the full article
Santam to assess rejected COVID-19 BI claims
4th January 2021
South African insurer Santam is set to commence the process for assessing claims for policies with contingent business interruption (CBI) extensions. The claims assessment process applies to policies impacted by the recent judgment in the Western Cape High Court in the case between Santam and hospitality firms Ma-Afrika Hotels and Stellenbosch Kitchen ... Read the full article
Reinsurers halted downward trends in 2020, says Willis Re
4th January 2021
Despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, reinsurers have largely halted the persistent downward trends which characterised recent years, according to a new report from Willis Re. On the buying side, Willis Re states that the efficient working of the global reinsurance market ensured that terms and conditions have been less of ... Read the full article
Insurers must demonstrate value after COVID: Dun & Bradstreet
31st December 2020
Once the COVID-19 crisis is in the rearview mirror for most businesses, it will be up to insurers to prove that they are more than an additional cost in a challenging economy. This is according to James Harrison, UKI Head of Insurance at data and analytics provider Dun & Bradstreet, who ... Read the full article
ABI praises extension of trade credit reinsurance scheme
31st December 2020
Graham Walsh, a senior policy adviser at The Association of British Insurers, has praised the decision to extend the trade credit reinsurance scheme until 30 June 2021. It was reported towards the end of April that the UK government was considering the implementation of a trade credit reinsurance backstop to prevent ... Read the full article