Switzerland has dropped plans to develop a public-private pandemic insurance scheme. Swiss Re’s CEO Christian Mumenthaler said his company “very much regrets” the decision not to pursue the proposal after it worked with the Swiss Insurance Association and government to develop possible solutions. These were based on private insurers assuming a portion of claims and a state-backed reinsurance arrangement. Speaking…
Sergio Ermotti has been elected chairman of Swiss Re, succeeding Walter Kielholz who has held the role for 12 years and is due to retire. Mr Kielholz has been appointed honorary chairman to reflect his services to the company that he first joined in 1989. All proposed board members were re-elected at the group’s AGM. Shareholders also approved an ordinary…
Insolvencies are set to jump 26% globally this year with several European countries likely to be worst hit as the fallout from Covid-19 finally impacts bankruptcies, according to Atradius. This would follow a 14% fall in insolvencies last year when governments introduced fiscal measures and bankruptcies regime changes to protect businesses from failure, said the trade credit insurer. Atradius added…
Zurich Insurance’s shareholders have voted for Michel M Liès to remain as chair and elected Sabine Keller-Busse as a new board member, at the company’s annual general meeting. All other existing board members that stood for re-election were approved. Shareholders also voted in favour of a dividend of CHF20 per share. Mr Liès has been chair at Zurich since 2018,…
Zurich is upping pressure on companies it invests in to set climate action targets in line with the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5⁰C. It also plans to begin asking commercial customers how they are planning to adapt their business to reduce climate change. During the next two years, Zurich will target companies that produce 65% of its…
Zurich Insurance stopped insuring and investing in more than a third of 268 companies last year that it identified as exposed to thermal coal, oil sands and oil shale, but unable or unwilling to adopt greener practices. The company says in its Sustainability Report 2020 that it decided to terminate its business relationships with 36% of these customers that didn’t…
European risk and insurance managers will welcome news of the formal launch of SiriusPoint, a new Bermuda-based international specialty insurance and reinsurance company. Investors clearly like the look of the international P&C insurance and reinsurance markets currently, as the new carrier launches with more than $3bn in initial capital. SiriusPoint is the result of the previously announced merger between Third…
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions reported “strong” and much-improved underlying performance last year, despite falling to a $350m loss as big Covid-19 claims and reserves of $943m struck. The numbers contributed to its parent group Swiss Re recording an $878m 2020 loss, following a $3.87bn pandemic hit. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ combined ratio for the year was 116.5%, from 127.9% a…
HDI Global is beefing up its core liability capability by expanding its senior management team and “resetting” the businesses strategy with a sharper international focus. The German insurance group, originally formed in 1903 as a mutual to offer liability cover to iron and steel companies, has carried out an aggressive international expansion programme in recent times that really started with…
P&C operating profit fell 28% at Zurich Insurance last year and was down 20% for the group as Covid-19 and nat cats took their toll, but a rebound in the second half and strong performance in commercial business, on the back of significant rate increases, helped steady the ship. Announcing full-year results, Zurich said the first half was impacted by…