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.
COVID-19 heightens risk for cargo shippers, transportation firms: Allianz
23rd April 2020
A report by global insurer Allianz has underlined the impact coronavirus-related lockdown measures could have on cargo shippers and transportation companies, as supply chains continue to face prolonged disruption. Allianz notes how the growing number of locked down and unmanned facilities means not only a greater risk of theft and fire ... Read the full article
COVID-19 disruption sees whiplash reform delayed to 2021
22nd April 2020
The UK’s Ministry of Justice has confirmed its decision to delay the implementation of the Whiplash Reform Programme until April 2021, citing unprecedented disruption caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Under the Programme, small claims track limit for road traffic accident related personal injury claims will be increased to £5,000; while ... Read the full article
KBW forecasts improvements for some virus-hit lines
22nd April 2020
Analysts at KBW have said that their near-term outlook favours re/insurers focused on lines for which underwriting prospects are improved by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and global responses to it. In contrast, they added that re/insurers exposed to lines with virus-related loss exposure will probably see initial pressure. For example, KBW expects ... Read the full article
RIMS presses Congress over pandemic risk insurance backstop
22nd April 2020
The risk management society (RIMS) has called for the establishment of a pandemic risk insurance program in the U.S. to accelerate economic recovery to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus continues to spread the volatile and uncertain financial market environment and subsequent recessionary risks have intensified on a global basis. Currently, ... Read the full article
WR Berkley posts $65mn COVID-19 hit for Q1
22nd April 2020
Re/insurance holding company W. R. Berkley’s first quarter results have included a $65 million preliminary provision for COVID-19 related claims activity. The company said it is continually monitoring the rapidly evolving legal and regulatory environment and the potential impact it will have on the re/insurance industry. Q1 also saw net premiums written ... Read the full article
UK trade credit package a boost for insurers, says GlobalData
22nd April 2020
Data and analytics firm GlobalData has said that the UK re/insurance industry could be boosted if the government decides to implement a trade credit reinsurance backstop scheme for the duration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sources said earlier this week that insurers are discussing a new scheme with the Treasury ... Read the full article
Financial market volatility hits Chubb in Q1, COVID-19 impact limited so far
22nd April 2020
Chubb's Q1 net income fell by more than 75% year-on-year to $252 million as a result of financial market volatility in the credit, equity and foreign exchange markets, with the firm's book value per share decreasing by 5.5% in the quarter. The insurer and reinsurer highlights the mark-to-market impact from financial ... Read the full article
Calls for pandemic insurance program similar to 9/11 terrorism coverage
22nd April 2020
The National Retail Federation is calling on US Congress to pass legislation establishing a federal program that would help businesses obtain insurance coverage for pandemics modeled on a program for terrorism insurance established following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The new measure would require that insurers offer policies that cover pandemics but ... Read the full article
IRB Brasil Re Board members resign amid “serious impacts” of COVID-19 crisis
22nd April 2020
Rio de Janeiro headquartered reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SA (IRB Brasil Re) has announced that certain members of its Board of Directors have resigned amid the impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. On April 20th, 2020 the reinsurer received the resignations of Vinicius Jose Almeida Albernaz and Alexsandro Broedel Lopes from ... Read the full article
Beazley’s Q1 Covid-19 losses hit $170m, premiums jump 13%
22nd April 2020
Beazley, the specialist Lloyd's focused insurer and reinsurer, has estimated that the total claims from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on its first-party business stands at USD 170 million, net of reinsurance, the majority of which is across its marine, property and reinsurance divisions. The specialist re/insurer has released its trading statement ... Read the full article
Hiscox forecasts up to $175mn in COVID-19 payouts
22nd April 2020
Specialist re/insurer Hiscox is expecting to pay up to $150 million in net claims, should disruption caused by restrictions on travel and mass gatherings continues for a six month period from March. In the event that these coronavirus-related restrictions are extended beyond six months, Hiscox expects that these claims could increase ... Read the full article
Australia’s insurance industry poised for slowdown: GlobalData
22nd April 2020
Data and analytics company GlobalData says Australia’s insurance industry is poised for decelerated growth over the next five years due to the challenging business environment and coronavirus outbreak. As a result, the country’s insurance industry is projected to decline by 1.3% from US$80.5 billion in 2019 to US$77.5 billion in 2020. An ... Read the full article
Hannover Re withdraws 2020 profit guidance on COVID-19 pandemic
22nd April 2020
Global reinsurance giant Hannover Re has withdrawn its profit guidance for 2020 in light of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and related uncertainty surrounding claims and the capital market landscape. The German reinsurer states that its first-quarter 2020 results were not significantly impacted by the global spread of the coronavirus as ... Read the full article
AM Best turns negative on Bolivia insurance
22nd April 2020
AM Best has revised its market segment outlook on Bolivia’s insurance industry to negative from stable, owing mainly to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The rating agency noted that the outbreak has exacerbated Bolivia’s political turmoil and contributed to an overall slowdown in economic activity. In combination with the vulnerable economic environment and ... Read the full article
Swiss Re Institute highlights economic impact from COVID-19 lockdowns
21st April 2020
Analysis conducted by the Swiss Re Institute suggests that coronavirus-related shutdown measures are driving a 20-25% reduction in economic activity among most advanced markets. The different sector compositions of countries will be a main factor in determining the size of the impact, with emerging markets likely to be impacted more given ... Read the full article