The use of global programmes could actually increase as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to experts from Zurich Insurance Group. IPN spoke to a small group of them, ahead of Commercial Risk’s two-day Global Programmes Europe conference (29-30 September). Q: Will the pandemic end the inclusion of employee benefits in global programmes or accelerate it?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning are talked about a lot in the media and in business in terms of their potential and benefits. But for many people, there is a certain hesitancy about AI, and an element of the unknown. Will it really do what it is promising? Will it take away jobs? Who takes accountability? And there is often…
Zurich Insurance Group has created a new global business platforms unit focusing on digital services, together with announcing key regional leadership appointments and new executive committee members. According to Zurich, it is “ramping up the transformation of its global business to meet the rapidly changing needs of consumers, launching a new unit to expand digital services worldwide and create a…
There is much debate around the topic of non-admitted insurance when it comes to global insurance programmes, but ultimately if sustainable solutions are to be provided, then it is necessary to understand and respect the regulations in the context in which companies buy insurance.
A new health and wellbeing business has been launched by Zurich Insurance Group to apply a global approach to the development of its health and wellbeing initiatives in markets around the world. The new WellCare business is designed to accelerate the group’s existing initiatives in global markets. According to Zurich, the new business aims to provide retail, SME and commercial…
For multinational programmes, the need for global coverage combined with local policies and servicing is a constant thread, and nowhere is this more true than with cyber insurance. Cyber risks always have a global and a local dimension at the same time, hence the need for insurance to provide global coverage that can respond locally.
In 2017, the US Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code Section 59A – a new base erosion and anti-abuse tax, colloquially known as BEAT. As BEAT has been in force for a couple of years, it has led to a rethink of how insurers structure global insurance programmes, with various different approaches from the insurance sector designed to manage the impact…
Risk managers require many things from their insurer when it comes to serving their global insurance programmes. To begin with, they are looking for a network that covers all the territories in which their company needs insurance and risk management services. But it is not simply about the size of the network and the number of territories covered. Risk managers…
A reimbursement product for employers to provide cash benefits to eligible employees hospitalised for more than five consecutive days as a result of Covid-19 has been launched by Zurich North America. The insurer said that in the US, “net profits from the offering will go to hunger relief charities, at a time of rising food insecurity fuelled by unemployment”. The…
In a hardening market with terms and conditions being tightened and exclusions increasing, it is perhaps not surprising that organisations are increasingly considering the use of captives. Two recent surveys of risk and insurance managers in the UK and Germany, carried out by Airmic and GVNW, showed that many businesses (65% UK, 53% Germany) are exploring alternative risk transfer solutions,…