Reinsurance News
COVID-19 news
News about the impact of the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and how it affected insurance and reinsurance markets.
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
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Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has withdrawn its profit guidance for 2020 as a result of the significant macroeconomic and financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.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
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
AM Best turns negative on Mexico insurance due to COVID-19
31st March 2020
AM Best has revised its outlook for Mexico’s insurance and surety industry from stable to negative due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its anticipated impact on the economy and international markets. The rating agency explained that the pandemic has aggravated the economic fundamentals that its stable outlook had been based on, ... Read the full article
Insurtech wefox launches broker platform amid COVID-19 concerns
30th March 2020
Berlin-based insurtech firm wefox Group has announced the launch of a new technology platform, which will be made available to brokers for free amid concerns that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting sales. wefox explained that it brought forward the release of its platform, wefoxGo, after realising that COVID-19 could put ... Read the full article
S&P stable on North American P&C despite COVID-19 pressures
30th March 2020
Analysts at S&P Global Ratings believe that fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be “manageable” for North American property and casualty (P&C) re/insurers, and have maintained their stable outlook on the sector. The rating agency considers current financial market turmoil and the ensuing recession to be a greater headwind to ... Read the full article
COVID-19 uncertainty sees QBE withdraw 2020 targets
30th March 2020
Ongoing economic and investment market uncertainty as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic has led QBE Insurance Group Limited to withdraw its 2020 financial targets. The insurer announced in mid-February a full-year 2019 combined operating ratio of 97.5%, above the target range of 94.5% to 96.5%. Within its results announcement, ... Read the full article
SCOR postpones AGM following investor criticism
30th March 2020
French reinsurer SCOR has decided to postpone its annual general meeting (AGM) to June 30, 2019, due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The company had initially tried to pull its AGM much earlier this year, on April 17th, but drew sharp criticism from activist investor CIAM last week. In ... Read the full article
Covéa committed to PartnerRe acquisition despite COVID-19 impacts: reports
30th March 2020
Despite the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic having a significant impact on European countries, driving meaningful and widespread financial market volatility, Covéa has reportedly said that it remains committed to its deal with Exor to acquire reinsurer PartnerRe. In early March, Covéa and Exor announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read the full article
COVID-19 brings range of new complexities for insurers: Swiss Re
30th March 2020
Reinsurer Swiss Re has noted that the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is introducing “a range of new complexities” for insurers in terms of claims, underwriting, policy terms, and more. These are compounded by the significant uncertainties that continue to surround the virus, such as the factors affecting mortality and infection rates. One ... Read the full article
Getting your daily reinsurance news from Reinsurance News is a simple way to receive only the reinsurance industry news that matters, delivered directly to your email inbox.
