No one within the European risk management and insurance market should be surprised by the uptick in interest in alternative risk financing, as companies across the continent struggle to cope with the economic and financial impact of Covid-19. The current crisis has once again underlined how traditional insurance products are limited in the way in which they can help deal…
Aon withdrew its 2020 guidance on revenues and profits as it announced its first-quarter results on Friday, because of the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The group is preparing for a likely reduction in revenues in coming quarters because of the global economic downturn caused by the virus. It assured investors that it is proactively managing its cost base…
Risk managers cannot afford to ignore climate change risks, despite the immediate Covid-19 crisis, and should be encouraging their directors and officers to maintain climate change on boardroom agendas if they are to thrive in the coming months. Experts speaking at a webinar organised by Commercial Risk warned climate change activists will be working hard despite the lockdowns, and will be…
The rest of the world should follow Europe in mandating disclosures of corporates’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, according to credit ratings agency DBRS Morningstar. It said global use of ESG reporting would make disclosures more comparable and standardised. Many large companies outside the EU have followed investor appetite for ESG disclosures and voluntarily publish ESG risks, but this…
Insurance executives believe that further development of blockchain and cryptoassets is being held back by the lack of an insurance market for such risks, according to a survey by Evertas. The cryptoasset insurer found that 55% of respondents feel companies are holding back on new blockchain initiatives and cryptoassets because they cannot get insurance cover. Some 87% of insurance executives…
Australian citizens and insurers are bracing themselves for another week of catastrophic losses as former Tropical Cyclone Esther tracks an unpredictable path across northern Australia and could re-intensify later in the week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology which described it as “a remarkable system”. Australia is still picking up the pieces of months of devastating bushfires that will cost…
The Chinese province of Hainan has launched an insurance product specifically designed to cover losses incurred by businesses as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. According to reports citing a notice released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the scheme has set aside CNY200m ($28.7m) to cover payouts. The Hainan government will subsidise 70%…
The half-year results just published by two of Australia’s leading insurers – Suncorp and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) – show the immediate financial impact of the recent spate of natural catastrophes to hit the country. They also show the urgent need for the national emphasis to shift from damage repair and cleanup post-event to loss prevention, risk mitigation and management.…
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the body that represents the Australian insurance industry, has accused leading consumer group CHOICE of causing “unnecessary and unjustified fear” among householders about the validity of their household insurance coverage, in relation to the bushfires that have devastated the country in recent months. CHOICE has not accused the insurers of dodging claims yet. But…
Risk managers in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide need to brace themselves for a difficult start to 2020 as the rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak in China and now worldwide hits the Chinese economy, global trade and supply chains, and equity prices. This year was predicted by many risk and insurance managers to be a difficult one as political risk rapidly…