coronavirus insurance impact News

Swiss Re to Report $1.1 Billion Loss During First Half on Hit from COVID-19

Reinsurance company Swiss Re said on Wednesday that claims and reserves of $2.5 billion related to COVID-19 will lead to a net first half loss of about $1.1 billion. The company, which reported the loss ahead of its regularly planned …

QBE Expects H1 2020 Loss of US$750M on COVID-19, Natural Catastrophe Claims

QBE Insurance Group expects to report a first-half, after-tax loss of around $750 million, mainly due to COVID-19 claims and natural catastrophes, which included Australia’s bushfires and hailstorms at the beginning of the year. During the first half, QBE said …

France Weighs Insurance Options to Protect Companies, Jobs from Future Pandemics

The French government is looking at ways to shield companies from the impact of future pandemics. The goal is to protect companies and jobs from the damage that major events such as pandemics can cause, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire …

Coronavirus Claims of Estimated €80B Are ‘Manageable’ for Europe’s Insurers: Moody’s

The coronavirus outbreak has had an adverse, but manageable, impact on the European insurance sector, leading to a drop in company earnings rather than capital erosion, says Moody’s Investors Service in a report. Central bank intervention has reversed much of …

S. African Regulator Says Business Interruption Virus Claims Don’t Pose Systemic Risk

South Africa’s Prudential Authority expects that business-interruption claims linked to the Covid-19 pandemic poses little systemic risk to the insurance industry. The regulator is in talks with the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority and insurance companies on claims from policyholders …

Reinsurance Capital Dips 6%, Tightening of Capacity Accelerates: Aon

Global reinsurance capital fell 6% to $590 billion for the first quarter of 2020, Aon reported in its June/July Reinsurance Market Outlook report. The report, which also looks at changes in reinsurance demand levels, hot-button reinsurance wording themes and primary …

Insurance Agency and Brokerage M&A Trends to Watch Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for many businesses across the globe, including the insurance industry. But so far, the insurance broker merger and acquisition (M&A) market has remained active even as the pandemic continues to unfold. Before the pandemic, …

Arch Estimates Q2 Catastrophe Losses Could Hit $225M, Which Include Pandemic Claims

Arch Capital Group Ltd. has estimated a range of pre-tax catastrophe losses of $205 million to $225 million in the second quarter of 2020 across its property casualty insurance and reinsurance segments. Included in these estimates is a range of …

Second Wave of Coronavirus Lockdowns Could Weaken Insurers’ Capital Buffers: S&P

Global insurers have proven resilient during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as their capital strength has helped stave off widespread downgrades; however, insurers’ capital buffers will erode through the second half of the year as financial market losses …

Florida’s Citizens to Resume Policy Cancellations, Nonrenewals Next Month

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s insurer of last resort, will resume processing cancellations and nonrenewal notices next month after halting them back in March in response to the state’s coronavirus outbreak. The insurer said in an agent bulletin July 9 …