With less than 18 months before Regulation 14.1.3 of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) comes into effect, there are still numerous challenges surrounding compliance and enforcement, which have cast uncertainty over the effect that the regulation will have on the international maritime industry and on individual shipping companies. This three-part series…
In July 2018, news emerged that between 27 June and 4 July, hackers had infiltrated the IT systems of Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), the largest healthcare group in Singapore. The hackers illegally accessed and copied the non-medical personal particulars of 1,495,367 patients to servers hosted overseas. Approximately 159,000 of the affected group, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and several…
The long-awaited Australian Senate Inquiry report into the current and future regulatory framework for remotely piloted aircraft (drones) in Australia was released on 31 July 2018. The report was highly anticipated. During the 18-month period of consultation with operators, regulators and businesses, the Senate Inquiry committee heard that Australia is at the forefront of drones. Australia’s aviation regulator, the Civil…
Discussion of the use of drones has predominantly focused on insuring them and the regulations (or lack thereof) relating to their operation. An area of drone use that is starting to be discussed more is their use by insurers to further understand the risks they write and to respond to claims. Pre-loss The use of drones pre-loss could assist insurers…
Recent months have seen increased volatility in emerging markets as foreign investors pull back from heavily indebted countries like Turkey, Argentina and South Africa. While a full-blown debt crisis looks unlikely, political risk in emerging markets is expected to heighten, driving increased demand for specialist trade credit insurance. With rising interest rates in the US, emerging markets have been finding…
With the world’s leading climate change scientists warning that the world has only 12 years to limit a climate change “catastrophe”, in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published on 8 October, the focus on climate change has never been higher and regulatory scrutiny of how businesses assess and disclose their climate change risk exposures is set to increase…
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious infrastructure development strategy announced by the Chinese Government. The initiative will cover more than 70 countries and is expected to cost about $1trn. Chinese companies are believed to have secured construction contracts worth more than $340bn and the Chinese Government has invested more than $210bn so far. The sheer size of…
As technology has increased, there has been an inevitable proliferation in the number of electromagnetic and radiofrequency field sources that people are exposed to on a daily basis. These include Wi-Fi, power lines, mobile phones and masts, IT equipment and other electronic devices. There are increasing numbers of people who report experiencing unpleasant symptoms due to exposure to these electromagnetic…
Marine insurers have been urged to innovate if they want to successfully compete with Chinese entities, as China steps up its involvement in Africa. The Belt and Road Initiative should be seen as an opportunity not a threat, suggested Dieter Berg, president of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), speaking at its annual conference in Cape Town. He said…
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the global insurance industry rose in the first half of 2018, with all regions seeing growth with the exception of Europe, according to Clyde & Co…