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.
Fitch revises UK life insurance sector outlook to negative from stable
18th March 2020
The rapidly evolving coronavirus outbreak has led Fitch Ratings to revise its UK life insurance sector outlook to negative from stable. The move comes a day after the global financial services ratings agency turned negative on the US life insurance industry. Both revisions are a result of the widespread uncertainty ... Read the full article
James Allen Insurance announces pandemic policy
18th March 2020
National insurance solutions provider James Allen Insurance has announced a comprehensive pandemic policy for business enterprises to protect themselves in the event of an outbreak. The policy is designed to cover added out-of-pocket expenses, as well as lost revenue associated with the outbreak of disease. The policy is backed Lloyd’s and other ... Read the full article
Fitch revises Allstate’s rating outlook to stable from positive on coronavirus
18th March 2020
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the rating outlook for The Allstate Corporation and its core insurance subsidiaries to stable from positive, due to the significant uncertainty being caused by the global coronavirus pandemic. The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has led to high levels of volatility in capital markets, which, has in turn driven ... Read the full article
Coronavirus volatility to erode EMEA insurers’ capital: Moody’s
18th March 2020
Analysts at Moody’s believe that coronavirus-induced volatility in the financial markets could erode the capital of EMEA insurers in the short term, with low interest rates also set to add pressure over the coming quarters. A recent heat map produced by the rating agency identified these two factors as the key ... Read the full article
Coronavirus to spark global recession in 2020: S&P Global
17th March 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate, economists at S&P Global are expecting a global recession this year. Since the company’s last update on March 3, coronavirus’ economic effect has worsened sharply. Economic data remains scarce, but the long-awaited initial figures from China for January and February appear much worse than feared. S&P ... Read the full article
Solvency at risk if insurers pay for excluded virus claims: APCIA
17th March 2020
David A. Sampson, President and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), has warned that industry solvency could be at risk if insurers are forced to pay COVID-19 claims that are not covered by current contracts. He noted that standard event cancellation insurance policies do not include communicable disease ... Read the full article
Many UK firms lack adequate insurance regardless of Government orders: ABI
17th March 2020
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has suggested that many businesses in the UK are unlikely to be able to call on their insurance cover for standard business interruption (BI) as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, irrespective of the Government ordering closures. When addressing the nation yesterday, UK Prime Minister ... Read the full article
Fitch turns negative on US life due to virus concerns
17th March 2020
Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook for the US life insurance industry from stable to negative, due to increased concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and its potential impacts on the credit quality of life insurers. Analysts explained that the outlook revision reflected greater uncertainties about disruptions in the financial markets, ... Read the full article
New Jersey’s COVID-19 legislation could be negative for insurers: Analysts
16th March 2020
Despite business interruption (BI) claims from the ongoing coronavirus being explicitly excluded by ISO's "virus" exclusion, new legislation being discussed today in the State of New Jersey seeks to eliminate this, which, analysts feel would be negative for all commercial insurers. Specifically, the New Jersey Legislature is set to propose a ... Read the full article
LMA introduces Coronavirus contingency clause
13th March 2020
The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has published policy language designed to prevent customers being left without cover in the event of a Coronavirus-related market shutdown. Drawn up by the LMA on behalf of its members, the clause ensures continuity of coverage for Lloyd’s re/insureds should, for more than one day during ... Read the full article
Insurance Council of Australia declares COVID-19 a catastrophe
13th March 2020
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has officially declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to be an ‘insurance catastrophe,’ following its designation as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. The ICA noted that the extent of claims and losses related to the COVID-19 spread remain unknown at this point, but said ... Read the full article
Bank rate cut to increase pressure on UK re/insurers: Moody’s
13th March 2020
Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service view the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to cut its base rate to 0.25% as a credit negative for UK insurers. The cut, which is designed to offset the economic shock of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, is expected to increase pressure on the UK insurance sector’s ... Read the full article
Hannover Re puts P&C coronavirus exposure at €200mn
12th March 2020
German reinsurer Hannover Re has estimated that its maximum exposure to coronavirus losses on the property and casualty (P&C) side of its business is around €200 million. Speaking alongside the release of the company’s 2019 results, executives explained that Hannover Re could see costs related to business interruption and cancellation ... Read the full article
Swiss Re employees advised to work from home
12th March 2020
Global reinsurer Swiss Re has confirmed a series of measures designed to counter the spread of Coronavirus between its employees. Staff in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul have been advised to work from home. Employees in the UK are also strongly advised to work from home. Additionally, In line with local ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s announces Coronavirus stress test measures
12th March 2020
In the face of rising uncertainty surrounding Coronavirus’ impact on the re/insurance industry, Lloyd’s has announced a series of actions designed to test market resilience. On Friday 13 March, Lloyd’s will close the underwriting room at 1 Lime Street in London and invoke its Emergency Trading Protocol for 24 hours in ... Read the full article