UK insurers warned over government grant deductions to Covid BI claimsThe UK’s City watchdog has warned it would intervene if insurers are found to be treating policyholders unfairly by deducting the value of government grants from pandemic-related business interruption (BI) claims.
FCA’s dual pricing ban to start from 2022The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given UK insurers extra time to implement new rules aimed at cracking down on dual pricing.
Oxbow Partners: Insurance industry’s ability to digitally adapt “limited” despite pandemic progressDespite Covid-19 leading to an “exceptional year” and a “great leap forward” for digital acceleration across the industry, carriers are not expected to maintain the pace of change beyond the pandemic, a report by insurance-focused management consultancy Oxbow Partners has found.
The importance of choiceOne of the key challenges facing the industry as it seeks to expand coverage for uninsured risks which sit within the current ‘protection gap’ is the lack of sufficient modelling tools to manage these exposures.
Marsh’s Piccolomini: Private sector cannot shoulder “black swan” events aloneThe president of Marsh’s international division, Flavio Piccolomini, has said public-private partnerships remain “the best option” for pandemic risk solutions and warned that businesses will be left vulnerable to so-called black swan events without “structured support”.
UK culture minister says gov-backed festival insurance is “still on the table”The UK’s culture minister has confirmed that a state-backed insurance scheme to protect festivals and live music events remains “on the table”, assuaging fears that policymakers had shelved moves designed to protect live events from bankruptcy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Markel-backed management liability insurtech Counterpart raises $10mnCounterpart, an insurtech MGA that uses Markel paper to write management liability business, has raised $10mn in Series A funding, with its CEO telling this publication the start-up has been able to grow quicker than expected due to the pandemic and tightening capacity.
Oasis secures $2mn funding as industry support for cat modelling alternatives growsOasis Loss Modelling Framework has secured commitments to invest more than $2mn from (re)insurers and brokers as the industry ramps up its support for the open-source catastrophe modelling platform, The Insurer can reveal.
Tokio Marine faces no material Greensill risk in 2021/22 financial yearTokio Marine has once again moved to pacify fears over its exposure to the failure of Greensill Capital, saying the collapse of the supply chain finance specialist would not have “any material impact” on the financial year ahead.
NSW flood evacuations continue as insurers begin to tally claimsFurther evacuations are expected as heavy rain continues to fall in New South Wales, with the claims tally expected to rise considerably in the coming days.
Munich Re’s Roanoke launches Patton-led Canadian operationSpecialty logistics and trade-focused Munich Re subsidiary Roanoke Insurance Group has launched a new Canadian operation led by the long-serving Glenn Patton.
Goldstein: Florida comparisons weighing on Kingstone share priceMisplaced comparisons between the coastal exposure on the books of Kingstone and its supposed Floridian peers are weighing on the regional Northeastern US company’s share price, the company’s CEO Barry Goldstein believes.
RMS to launch future climate models for key perilsModelling firm RMS has revealed it is to launch an enhanced set of modelling tools for key perils to take into account a range of future climate scenarios.
Bermuda: sun shines on the reinsurance island once again…Premier E. David Burt on a Bermuda renaissance, $19bn capital wave, new entrants, “re-setting” relationships, climate risk finance, visas and the pandemic.
Marsh McLennan under spotlight over role in Greensill collapse: reportsAn internal review by Credit Suisse into the collapse of supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital has placed the spotlight on broker Marsh McLennan, according to reports.
NSW claims tally to rise as millions face severe weather warningMore than 5,000 claims have already been received by insurers following flooding in New South Wales, which has prompted the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) to declare a catastrophe for the event.
KBW: The Hartford would be “manageable bolt-on” for AllianzA rival bid for The Hartford from European powerhouse Allianz would be in line with its appetite to strengthen its US presence and represent a “manageable bolt-on” for the company as it looks to deploy capital when attractive opportunities arise, according to KBW analysts.
Pandemic pushed Ecclesiastical to £15.7mn loss in 2020UK insurer Ecclesiastical reported a pre-tax loss of £15.7mn ($21.7mn) for 2020, down from a profit of £73.3mn a year earlier, principally due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on financial markets.
MSG sues insurers for Covid losses on $1.8bn policyMadison Square Garden and associated businesses – including the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers – have sued FM Global, AIG, Allianz and Generali for Covid-19 business interruption losses, one of a growing number of big-ticket lawsuits involving US sports teams.
World Bank backs development of Tunisian catastrophe insurance marketThe World Bank has approved $50mn in financing to support a disaster and climate resilience project in Tunisia, which will include a public-private insurance mechanism to protect against the financial fallout from natural disasters.