Aon and Marsh McLennan issue united call for (re)insurers to support Ukraine’s recovery

Brokers Aon and Marsh McLennan have made a united call for the (re)insurance sector to remove blanket exclusions to support Ukraine’s recovery from the conflict with Russia.

The world’s two largest (re)insurance brokers both issued a call to action for the sector to take steps to help build Ukraine’s resilience and lay the foundations for a post-conflict economy.

Aon CEO Greg Case said insurance capital is essential for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s healthcare, energy and agricultural sectors.

“Aon’s support of Ukraine leads us to look forward to its economic recovery,” he said. “We’re asking the insurance industry to look closely at Ukraine’s risks and work to strengthen the public-private partnerships under development.”

Marsh McLennan president and CEO John Doyle said: “Marsh McLennan is dedicated in our support of Ukraine – helping it attract global investment to rebuild the country and recover from the devastating impact of war on its people and economy.

“We call on the global insurance community to join us in this effort and end blanket exclusions for Ukraine.”

Both brokers are already working on initiatives to support Ukraine.

Marsh McLennan’s Unity facility was the first public-private insurance partnership launched to facilitate investment into Ukraine. Launched in November 2023, and backed by the Ukraine Ministry of the Economy, Unity provides up to $50mn in hull and separate P&I war risk insurance.

The facility, first revealed by The Insurer, is led by Ascot with participation from Markel and a number of Lloyd’s carriers.

In March, Marsh McLennan expanded Unity to provide war risk insurance for ships carrying all non-military cargo to Ukrainian ports.

Marsh McLennan has also been working with the Ukraine government to develop its war risk data platform, which provides investors and (re)insurers with granular, transparent data on the impact of the conflict to date and degree of war risk.

In June, Aon worked with the US International Development Finance Corporation to create a first-of-its-kind insurance program to support war risk policies for businesses operating in Ukraine.

In their latest statement, unveiled at the start of this year’s Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo, the two brokers said arbitrary exclusions for Ukraine contribute to confusion about the vastly different levels of risk in the country.

“As a result, there are potential issues with how (re)insurers underwrite risks between regions directly impacted by the war and many areas of central and western Ukraine which have suffered little to no war damage,” they said in a statement.

“The use of data and analytics can enable more impactful insights into where insurance capital can contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction and further economic growth.”