European countries are some of the most resilient business environments in the world, according to FM Global’s 2020 ranking, which puts them ahead of the pack in staging a recovery from the current Covid-19 pandemic. FM Global says resilience “is never more critical than in a world shocked by pandemic”. It adds that the higher-ranked countries in its 2020 Resilience…
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…
Zurich expects to pay P&C claims of about $750m for full-year 2020 from Covid-19 and has already posted $280m for the first quarter. Risk managers will be pleased to hear that the group believes virus-related claims are expected to remain within its 2020 earnings “risk tolerance”. Zurich said it has strong liquidity and a conservative investment portfolio that will help…
Zurich Insurance Group has created two underwriting roles with the appointment of Ralph Brand as global head of casualty, financial lines and cyber, and Chris Waterman as global head of property, marine and technical lines. Zurich said the new roles will simplify its underwriting by aligning shorter-tail first-party coverages and longer-tail third-party liability coverages. Mr Brand rejoined Zurich last year…
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…
Swiss multi-line insurance and reinsurance group Helvetia has taken the radical step of offering to pay 50% of the virus-related business interruption (BI) losses of its Swiss restaurant policyholders, despite continuing to insist that the risk is legally excluded from its policies. This follows a compromise reached in Bavaria led by the German state’s economics ministry, under which a group…
RMS has launched a new model for convective storms in Europe, which caused €12bn of insured losses between 2013 and 2019. The model covers a range of severe convective storm events, including localised tornadoes and hailstorms. It models property and motor policy losses. The European Severe Convective Storm High Definition Model covers 17 countries where the risk of severe convective…
Supply chain security will be the top priority for businesses looking to stabilise their operations post-Covid-19, according to PwC’s latest coronavirus impact report. “Most CFOs are still considering cost containment measures, but they are also planning various actions around work sites, supply chains and investments that will position their company to succeed in the post-crisis world,” PwC says. In a…
Growth rates of insurance markets in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Australia will all be negatively affected by Covid-19, according to a series of reports from data and analytics firm GlobalData. The total Swiss insurance market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% between 2020 and 2023, from £52.0bn in 2020 to £54.3bn in 2023.…
Bottlenecks in European and global supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will significantly deepen the economic crisis faced by EU nations and plunge the bloc into a worse recession than in 2009, according to Oxford Economics, the UK-based global forecasting and quantitative analysis firm. Its latest analysis finds that for the EU, intra-bloc trade is vital and shutdowns will…