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.
Travel insurers to pay out £275mn over Coronavirus
24th March 2020
Travel insurers are expected to pay out at least £275 million to travellers due to the Coronavirus according to first estimates out today from the Association of British Insurers. ABI’s figures suggest £275 million will be paid to customers in Coronavirus related claims with the vast majority attributable to cancellations, with ... Read the full article
Re/insurers brace for economic impact of Olympics delay
24th March 2020
The confirmed one-year delay to the Tokyo Olympics is expected to have broad implications for the re/insurance industry beyond basic cancellation coverage issues, with some commentators suggesting that the decision could result in a $12 billion hit to the Japanese economy. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, along with the International Olympic ... Read the full article
Fitch revises London market outlook to negative amid COVID-19 issues
24th March 2020
Fitch Ratings has revised its sector outlook for the underlying fundamentals of the London market insurance space to negative from stable, driven by growing concerns around the impacts and disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Fitch notes that the ongoing virus outbreak threatens the credit quality of London market insurers. While ... Read the full article
Insurers advised on Coronavirus claims surge preparation
24th March 2020
The Society of Claims Professionals has called on insurers to prepare for surge events as the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve. The Society published a guide detailing how insurers should establish a “Surge Group” to be adequately prepared for surge events and maintain service. The guide details six activities which must be ... Read the full article
Marine sector faces huge exposure to economic slowdown: analysts
24th March 2020
Analysis by Russell Group has shown that the marine re/insurance sector could face huge exposure to a slowdown in the Chinese economy, induced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The firm found that just six global shipping companies, representing roughly 35% of industry, had a collective $114 billion exposure to this kind ... Read the full article
Forced COVID-19 payments could impact insurer stability: Sampson, APCIA
23rd March 2020
David Sampson, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), has said that the industry recognises the unprecedented disruption being caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, but has warned against impacting the stability of the insurance sector in the U.S. through forced covers. According to Sampson, ... Read the full article
Coronavirus BI loans available to UK brokers, but not re/insurers
23rd March 2020
Government-owned development bank, the British Business Bank, has revealed that the recently announced Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) will be made available to UK brokers, but not to insurers or reinsurers. CBILS is a new scheme announced last week by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help support businesses whose operations have ... Read the full article
Could market decline force M&A price renegotiations? (Covea-PartnerRe, Aon-WTW)
23rd March 2020
With pressures from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak causing a surge in market volatility and significant decreases in share prices, there could be a question mark over some of the larger merger and acquisition (M&A) deals announced recently. For example, PartnerRe shares were valued at US $27.20 per share on the New ... Read the full article
Japan, Korea insurers face ongoing risks from COVID-19: Moody’s
23rd March 2020
Despite low numbers of infections and low claims, Moody’s analysts believe insurers in Japan and Korea should expect to face business disruption and financial risk from the coronavirus outbreak, with further downside risk should infections rise significantly. Analysts say direct claims related to the coronavirus outbreak will come from two main ... Read the full article
Fitch turns negative on global reinsurance, US P&C fundamentals
23rd March 2020
The unfolding Coronavirus outbreak has prompted Fitch Ratings to revise its outlook for the underlying fundamentals of the global reinsurance sector to negative from stable. The ratings agency also revised its outlook for the US property and casualty insurance sector, citing concerns over coronavirus and related impacts on the credit quality ... Read the full article
Re/insurers cannot be the mechanism for a COVID-19 bailout: CII
20th March 2020
Matt Connell, Director of Policy and Engagement for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) , has stressed that it is unsustainable to expect insurance and reinsurance companies to be the “mechanism for a Covid-19 bail out.” Responding to expectations recently set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Connell acknowledged that where ... Read the full article
European insurers’ coronavirus BI claims will likely be limited, Moody’s
20th March 2020
Moody’s is expecting insurers in the UK, France and Germany to face only moderate business interruption claims as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, as pandemic-related claims are excluded from most business interruption policies in all three countries. This follows a statement from the Association of British Insurers which explained that ... Read the full article
Zurich warns of heightened cyber risk during pandemic
20th March 2020
Zurich Insurance has warned that a surge in remote work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will result in heightened cyber security risks. With businesses around the world increasingly urging employees to work from home to help slow the spread of the virus, analysts believe that the security standards of some organisations ... Read the full article
Swiss Re has $250mn exposure to Tokyo Olympics cancellation: CFO Dacey
20th March 2020
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has a specific exposure of USD 250 million to the cancellation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and also potential exposure in other lines as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Scheduled to commence on the 24th of July 2020, the ability for the Tokyo Olympics to ... Read the full article
FCA asks insurers to stretch policy T&Cs for coronavirus
20th March 2020
UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that it expects insurers to stretch the terms & conditions of policies to help the population adapt to the socioeconomic impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). The FCA is in the process of making the re/insurance industry aware that customer behaviour is set to ... Read the full article