Swiss Re News

Global Insurers Paid $89 Billion for Natural, Manmade Disasters in 2020: Swiss Re

Natural and man-made catastrophes cost the insurance industry US$89 billion in 2020, in the fifth costliest year since 1970, according to a report from Swiss Re’s sigma. Of that total, US$81 billion related to claims from natural catastrophes, with the …

Swiss Re Announces Net-Zero Climate Targets in Underwriting, Investments

Swiss Re announced new measures to support the transition to a net-zero economy by 2050, which encompass re/insurance underwriting, asset management and its own operations. “Climate change remains the biggest challenge we face as a society. The stakes are high …

Insurers Face Disputes with Their Reinsurers over UK COVID-19 Business Income Claims

Top insurance companies, ordered by Britain’s highest court to pay thousands of small businesses millions of pounds in claims for COVID-19 disruption, are facing a battle with reinsurers over who should foot the bill, industry sources said. Bars, beauty parlors, …

Swiss Re Forms Strategic Partnership with Satellite Operator and Flood Monitor, ICEYE

Swiss Re has entered into a strategic partnership with ICEYE, a commercial satellite operator and satellite-based flood monitoring provider. Building on ICEYE’s innovative technology, the partnership will advance flood risk management, assist disaster response and speed up claims’ payments globally …

Swiss Re Reports Larger-Than-Expected Annual Loss of US$878 Million

Swiss Re swung to a larger-than-expected annual loss on Friday, pressured by $3.9 billion in claims and reserves related to the coronavirus pandemic, but declared a dividend as the reinsurer expects a return to profit in 2021. Swiss Re and …

As Insurers Exit Coal Underwriting, They May Find It’s Good for Stock Valuations

As far as climate groups like the Sunrise Project are concerned, getting insurers out of the coal underwriting business is the most important thing they can do. No more insurance, no more coal. It’s something Sunrise has been pushing for …

If Tokyo Olympics Canceled, Loss for Insurers Would Be ‘Mind-Blowingly’ Big

LONDON — Insurers are facing a $2-3 billion loss if the Tokyo Olympics are canceled this year, amounting to the largest ever claim in the global event cancellation market, brokers say. With less than six months until the Games are …

Report: Despite Pandemic-Driven Emission Redux, We’re Headed to 3-Degrees Warming

A new report finds that despite a brief dip in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of 3°C this century, a mark that is well beyond the Paris …

Global Natural and Manmade Disasters Cost Insurers US$83B in 2020: Swiss Re

Insurance industry losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters across the globe amounted to US$83 billion in 2020, making it the fifth-costliest year for the industry since 1970, according to the Swiss Re Institute in its preliminary sigma estimates. Natural …

Why World Bank’s Controversial Pandemic Bonds Didn’t Function as Hoped

In late January 2015, just after the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history, then-World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stood in front of a group of Georgetown University students and professors to introduce a new approach to fighting pandemics. Fresh …