The Covid-19 pandemic has heightened political and economic risks, with a bungled recovery and threat of economic paralysis meeting political weakness the top threats, warns Control Risks in a special edition of its Risk Map 2020. Control Risks has also raised the operational risk level for several European countries following Covid-19. This includes the UK, Spain and Germany, which all…
The cost of cyberattacks to businesses has spiked almost six-fold to an average $57,000 per event in the past year, according to a new global study from Hiscox. Total cyber losses reported by almost 5,600 companies polled rose to $1.8bn from $1.2bn. But the proportion of surveyed businesses targeted by cyberattacks also fell significantly from 61% to 39%. Some 51% of…
Hardening of the European insurance market is gathering pace, as the coronavirus pandemic adds to existing pressures driving price increases and capacity shortages in certain lines, according to Marsh. It added that market hardening is now touching most lines of business and geographies in Europe, and is expected to continue into 2021. “Covid-19 will in some areas exacerbate the pricing…
There have been a couple of recent changes to insurance-related charges, including VAT, in Saudi Arabia and Spain, that may affect global insurance programmes, according to TMF Group.
Beazley has launched its healthcare liability insurance in Spain after rollouts in the US, Canada and the US. Virtual Care and its standalone medical malpractice insurance will be available to Spanish customers through brokers. Beazley said managing health issues remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the liability risks for health professionals. At the same time, the digital health market…
Does Covid-19 constitute a force majeure event, a work-related accident or an occupational illness? Does the failure to supply sufficient and adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) constitute a breach of safety? A recent judgment given by the Labour Court of Teruel, Spain, on 3 June 2020, deals with these key issues. The proceedings were brought by trade union FASAMET against…
Beazley said it has enhanced three cyber and media and technology policies for Spanish buyers. The company said in line with its commitment to provide more straightforward, user-friendly policies, its “flagship” cyber policies Beazley Breach Response (BBR) and InfoSec, as well as MediaTech, have been “streamlined”. On BBR, first-party covers, such as cyber extortion, data recovery loss, business interruption, contingent…
The Spanish non-life insurance market has retained a stable outlook under AM Best’s analysis that found it has shown resilience to political turbulence and slowing economic growth. The ratings agency said Spanish insurers have conservative investment portfolios that can bear recent volatility in financial markets following Covid-19. However, it expects financial market turmoil in Q1 2020 to cause unrealised investment…
Insurance rate hardening accelerated in Q1 with Covid-19 impacting some regions, according to a new report from Aon that found Europe recorded rate increases of more than 10% in the first few months of 2020. The market has also tightened on terms and capacity, Aon says, with higher risk placements “very challenging” in Europe. Aon adds that insurers have retreated…
Law firm DAC Beachcroft has appointed Alex Stovold as aviation partner in its London global insurance practice. Mr Stovold joins from Clyde & Co, where he was a partner. He will begin his new role in July. “This appointment is another significant step in the continued growth of our market-leading global insurance offering to meet the needs of our clients,”…