International & Reinsurance News

Climate Change Drives Amazon Rainforest’s Record Drought: Study

Climate change is the main culprit for a record drought in the Amazon rainforest that has drained rivers, killed endangered dolphins and upended life for millions of people in the region, according to a study released on Wednesday. Global warming …

Houthi Attacks Awaken Somali Piracy on Ships Avoiding Red Sea

Piracy off Somalia’s coast has increased since maritime security was disrupted by Houthi militants’ attacks on ships in the Red Sea in response to the Israel-Hamas war. The Horn of Africa nation has recorded five assaults on commercial ships off …

Colombia Declares National Disaster as Wildfires Spread Through Parched Forests

Colombia declared a national disaster as wildfires spread through drought-hit forests and filled the capital, Bogota, with smoke. Environmental authorities reported 31 separate blazes on Thursday, after months of hot, dry weather caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Some …

Australia Braces for More Wild Weather in Wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has uprooted trees and felled powerlines in Australia’s Queensland state, leaving tens of thousands without electricity or phone service as the state braces for further wild weather into the weekend. The storm has weakened to a tropical …

Several Ukrainian State-Run Bodies Report ‘Large-Scale’ Cyber Attacks

Several major Ukrainian state organizations on Thursday reported cyber attacks on their systems, in the latest wave that a source close to the government blamed on Russian intelligence. Ukraine’s state-run energy company Naftogaz said one of the data centers had …

Brazil Orders Vale, BHP and Samarco to Pay $9.7B in Damages for 2015 Dam Disaster

A Brazilian federal judge ruled that miners Vale and BHP and their joint venture Samarco must pay 47.6 billion reais ($9.67 billion) in damages for a 2015 tailings dam burst, according to a legal decision on Thursday seen by Reuters. …

People Moves: Aventum Promotes Eldridge to MD; Aon Names Dando as EMEA Head of Strategy, Technology Group; Chubb Taps WTW’s Källs as Country Mgr, Sweden/Finland

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at the re/insurance group Aventum, the broker Aon, and insurer Chubb. A summary of these new hires follows here. Aventum Promotes Eldridge to MD Aventum, the London-based re/insurance group that operates across …

Amazon Pulls Plug on UK Home Insurance Venture

Amazon has pulled the plug on its UK home insurance venture – a comparison website – after launching in October 2022. “Over the last year, we have been evaluating various businesses and programs, and as a part of that we’ve …

Reinsurance Market Likely to Begin Softening in 2025 as Capacity Rises in 2024: Fitch

Reinsurers’ underwriting margins are expected to peak in 2024 on the significant price rises and tighter terms and conditions achieved during 2023 and in the January 2024 renewals, which will likely lead to softer market conditions in 2025, according to …

Cyclone Kirrily Makes Landfall in Australia as Severe Storm

Australia is being lashed by damaging winds and heavy rainfall as Severe Tropical Cyclone Kirrily makes landfall, the biggest system to hit the Queensland coast in almost five years. Kirrily is crossing near Townsville as a Category 3 system, and …

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