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.
London market re/insurers not immune to impacts of COVID-19: Peel Hunt
16th April 2020
London market insurers and reinsurers are certainly not immune to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak, with exposures to pandemic and the subsequent recession risks seen across the property, marine, casualty, and contingency classes, according to Peel Hunt. In recent industry notes, analysts at Peel Hunt have explored the potential ... Read the full article
Energy & power industry should prepare for turmoil, warns Marsh JLT Specialty
16th April 2020
Amid widespread uncertainty surrounding the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy and power insurance sector, Marsh JLT Specialty has said that the industry should be prepared for a period of turmoil. Currently, the potential hit to the insurance and reinsurance industry from the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus ... Read the full article
Erosion of insurance contract rights bad for the economy: Priebe, Guy Carpenter
16th April 2020
Any erosion of insurance contract rights, through the honouring of claims where coverage was never intended, or refusal of claims that should have been covered, would be bad for the economy as a whole, Guy Carpenter's Chairman David Priebe explained to us. In a wide-ranging interview, Priebe said that it remains ... Read the full article
COVID-19 impact on U.S. insurers’ Q1 underwriting to be limited, says S&P
16th April 2020
With global insurers and reinsurers soon to announce their first-quarter 2020 results, analysts at S&P Global Ratings expect the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to hit the earnings of U.S. life, health, and property/casualty (P/C) insurers. Overall, analysts expect that the investment performance of U.S. insurers will take more of a ... Read the full article
AXIS commits $1mn donation to support COVID-19 relief efforts
16th April 2020
Bermudian re/insurer AXIS Capital has announced a $1 million donation to support COVID-19 relief and community support efforts. The company will partner with non-profit organizations providing pandemic relief globally, as well as in communities in which AXIS operates. The donations are an extension of the AXIS Corporate Citizenship strategy, which focuses on ... Read the full article
Fairfax warns of $1.4bn Q1 loss, as COVID-19 hits investments
15th April 2020
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has released preliminary financial information ahead of its results for the first quarter of 2020, which shows that the company expects to incur a net loss of $1.4 billion, largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on investment markets. Chair and Chief Executive Officer Prem ... Read the full article
Most BI policies have no obligation to pay out on COVID-19: FCA
15th April 2020
In a letter to insurance and reinsurance company Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that most policies have no obligation to pay out in relation to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The comments come from the FCA's interim CEO, Christopher Woolard, and focus solely on conduct ... Read the full article
UK insurers brace for legal action over COVID-19 claims
15th April 2020
Insurance companies in the UK are set to face legal action from small businesses after turning down business interruption claims related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to reports from the Guardian. Businesses have argued that legitimate BI claims have been refused by major insurers in the wake of the crisis. Many ... Read the full article
Insurers in California told to refund premiums amid coronavirus outbreak
14th April 2020
Ricardo Lara, the Insurance Commissioner of California, has told insurers to refund certain premiums to customers and businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In a bulletin to all property and casualty insurers and workers compensation insurers, Insurance Commissioner Lara underlined the unprecedented challenge for the region's residents and businesses ... Read the full article
Bermuda’s re/insurers show “operational resilience” amid COVID-19 crisis: ABIR
14th April 2020
Despite the challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Bermudian insurers and reinsurers continue to meet the needs of clients and have shown "operational resilience" during the crisis, reports the Association of Bermuda Insurers & Reinsurers (ABIR). With social distancing measures in place across much of the world, the ABI ... Read the full article
1347 PIH warns of Q1 net loss as value of FedNat investment declines
14th April 2020
1347 Property Insurance Holdings, Inc. (1347 PIH) has announced that it expects to report a net loss of $8.6 million for the first-quarter of 2020, primarily driven by non-cash losses related to the change in fair value of its investment in FedNat Holding Company. FedNat completed the acquisition of 1347 ... Read the full article
Mark Watson proposes government reinsurance backstop for pandemic
14th April 2020
Attempts to stimulate the US economy amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will not work without the introduction of a government reinsurance backstop for pandemic, according to Mark Watson, founder and principal of Aquila Capital Partners and former CEO of Argo Group. Writing as part of an article in Morning Consult, Watson ... Read the full article
Mid-year renewals expected to be on-time: Priebe, Guy Carpenter
14th April 2020
The mid-year reinsurance renewals at June and July 1st 2020 are expected to proceed without any major issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the industry prepares to negotiate via video conference, David Priebe, Chairman of Guy Carpenter told us. Speaking with Reinsurance News, the Chairman of reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter ... Read the full article
JP Morgan reduces income estimates on COVID-19 exposure
14th April 2020
JP Morgan has reduced its net income estimates for the largest four European reinsurers, due to the significant claims that could arise from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On the P&C side, analysts see event cancellation as the most immediate source of claims, where the outcome for reinsurers should be known fairly ... Read the full article
Moody’s revises Japan life outlook to negative
14th April 2020
Moody's Japan has changed its outlook for Japan's life insurance industry to negative from stable, citing challenges to capitalisation and profitability due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Analysts noted that the virus outbreak has already caused significant disruption to the domestic and global capital markets, and could put strain on insurers’ ... Read the full article
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