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.
L&G completes £261mn of pension risk transfer deals in March
2nd April 2020
UK insurer Legal & General Group plc (L&G) has revealed that its Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) division completed eight transactions over the past month, securing a combined £261 million of pensioners' benefits during uncertain times. The eight transactions cover UK and U.S. pension schemes and varied in size from as low ... Read the full article
Swiss Re expects COVID-19 impacts to be “absolutely manageable”
2nd April 2020
Executives at global reinsurance giant Swiss Re have said that at this point, the impacts of the current crisis around the COVID-19 pandemic on the company is viewed as "being absolutely manageable." In a letter to shareholders, clients and partners, Walter B. Kielholz, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Christian ... Read the full article
RAA-led coalition presses US gov for business recovery fund
1st April 2020
The Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), together with a coalition representing the US business community, has sent a letter to President Trump and Congressional leaders, urging them to support the Covid-19 Business and Employee Continuity and Recovery Fund. The Recovery Fund is a solution designed to to support businesses and employees ... Read the full article
Life re/insurers well positioned to handle COVID-19 risks: S&P
1st April 2020
Analysts at S&P Global Ratings believe the North American life re/insurance industry is well-positioned to handle the immediate impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, despite significant escalation for certain risks. In particular, life insurers will face higher asset risk, S&P said, as well as equity market volatility, near-zero interest rates, and ... Read the full article
Coface placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch
1st April 2020
Global financial services ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has placed Coface on Rating Watch Negative amid expectations that the trade credit insurance industry will be negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. According to Fitch, the impacts and uncertainty being created by the virus outbreak means that it is now more ... Read the full article
Aon enhances reinsurer trading portal for Lloyd’s & IUA markets
1st April 2020
Re/insurance broker Aon has enhanced its reinsurer trading portal, ABConnect Placements, to electronically bind treaty placements with Lloyd’s of London and International Underwriting Association (IUA) markets from 1 April renewals. The new bind feature enables Lloyd’s and IUA markets to complete and bind Aon's treaty reinsurance placements without the need for ... Read the full article
Moody’s stays negative on European insurance industry
1st April 2020
Moody's Investors Service has maintained its negative outlook on the European insurance industry as solvency and profitability continues to be pressured by coronavirus. Moody's also changed the outlook on the UK life and Italian life insurance sectors to negative from stable, reflecting the rating agency's view that the coronavirus outbreak will ... Read the full article
Loss-hit lines up +50% during a steady April reinsurance renewals: Willis Re
1st April 2020
Despite the disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reinsurers took a measured approach to the April renewals and services were provided without interruption, reports reinsurance broker Willis Re in its latest 1st View renewals report. According to Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Towers Watson, the global reinsurance ... Read the full article
COVID-19 will increase demand for health insurance, says China Re
1st April 2020
China Re has said that it expects the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to accelerate the development of the re/insurance industry by further motivating demand for health insurance and raising the importance of online technology and digital transformation. For the life and health reinsurance market, ceding demand for domestic health insurance will remain ... Read the full article
Munich Re withdraws 2020 profit guidance on COVID-19 impacts
1st April 2020
Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has withdrawn its profit guidance for 2020 as a result of the significant macroeconomic and financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reinsurer states that during the opening quarter of 2020, its property - casualty reinsurance division experienced considerable claims burden from losses related to ... Read the full article
KBW warns re/insurers against complacency on virus BI claims
31st March 2020
Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) have warned re/insurers that some courts are likely to decide that commercial policies will include business interruption (BI) coverage stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19), even if it is explicitly excluded. Based on its discussions, KBW believes that most P&C insurers consider themselves to have ... Read the full article
Coronavirus to weigh against P&C improvements: Fitch
31st March 2020
North American property and casualty (P&C) insurers reported improved operating results in 2019, but near-term performance will likely be more challenging due to the onset of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the resulting economic impact, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency has maintained its stable outlook on the US P&C insurance and ... Read the full article
Survey: 32% say Covid-19 to increase reinsurance & retro buying
31st March 2020
With already a few hundred responses collected from our new survey on the re/insurance market implications of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, it's clear the market is expecting that long-term the crisis will drive an appetite for greater protection. Our ... Read the full article
FEMA extends flood policy renewal period
31st March 2020
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that it will extend the grace period to renew flood insurance policies to help policyholders affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To support customers who may be experiencing financial hardships due to the outbreak, FEMA said it would push back the grace ... Read the full article
Moody’s turns negative on trade credit insurers
31st March 2020
Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook for several trade credit insurers from stable to negative, due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The rating agency said that COVID-19 could negatively impact the performance of Atradius Credito y Caucion S.A. (ACyC), Compagnie Francaise d'Assurance pour le Comm. (Coface) and Clal Credit ... Read the full article