Content
News
ESG premiums and investments should be linked, says Hong Kong Green Finance Association
CROs assuming head of sustainability role aligns management of key organisational risks, HK body says
Insurers that failed to hike rates face "rude awakening" post-Covid
WR Berkley foresees trouble as claims frequency normalises and severity rockets
Insurtech weekly: Scor, Sompo, B3i, AkinovA, By Bits, Nayms
InsuranceERM rounds up the latest partnerships, fundraisings and launches in the insurance technology world
People moves: Ortec Finance; Sicsic Advisory; IAA; Chubb; Lloyd's; Catalina
InsuranceERM rounds up major appointments in the insurance industry
Tryg's biggest operational risk is employee mental health
Chief executive Morten Hübbe says business has been resilient to Covid-19 crisis
Fix annual cohorts, then we'll support IFRS 17 endorsement, say European insurers
Insurance Europe and CFO Forum say other issues do not block endorsement
Ohio judge rules in favour of plaintiff in Zurich BI case
Restaurant wins key ruling against Zurich as more cases likely to be decided in the coming months
German life insurers must wait to judge Covid-19's true impact
Leading actuary warns it's premature to discount Covid's effect
Q4 risks becoming a "kitchen sink" loss situation for re/insurers
Arch and Axis flag major catastrophe and Covid-19 claims
Insurers urged to focus on climate litigation risk
UN's Butch Bacani says insurers should address climate-related risks "holistically"
Gjensidige downplays further Covid-19 operational risk
CEO Helge Leiro Baastad said operations were essentiality back to normal
Free webinar: ESG considerations for insurers investing in Asia
Register now for webinar on 26 January
Adaptation key to tackling flood risk, warns Flood Re chief
Andy Bord said adaptation is as important as mitigating future flood risk
German insurtech DFV grows premiums 26% despite Covid-19
Health insurer plans expansion into life and non-life in 2021
Losses from Australian hailstorm rival Black Summer bushfires
Cat loss modeller Perils puts costs for each at A$1.9bn
IFoA brings disciplinary action against two of its biggest critics
But first case is dismissed by a tribunal panel
Hong Kong insurers face Orsa overload
Own risk and solvency assessments introduced ahead of RBC regime
BI appeal opportunity recedes for Australian insurers
Lawyer says BI insurers' legal arguments in Australia were too narrow
Terrorism insurance's blurred lines
What constitutes a "terrorist" act sparks debate ahead of Biden inauguration
Insurers shouldn't be scapegoated over environment, says Zurich CRO
Peter Giger discusses implications from the World Economic Forum risk report
Swiss IAIGs expected to self-identify this year
Internationally active insurance groups will be subject to enhanced supervision and capital rules
QBE boosts risk margin after UK BI judgement
The outcome left the insurer with less headroom to cover Australian BI claims
Insurers warned of further litigation after UK BI test case resolution
Any delays to payments could see insurers back in court, lawyer warns
Insurtech weekly: Clark, Bold Penguin, Apollo Insurance Solutions, Hiro, Lemonade, Humn
InsuranceERM rounds up the latest fundraisings among global insurtechs
Axis Capital says no to oil and gas in Arctic Refuge
Bermudian re/insurer is third underwriter to reject fossil fuel industry in Alaska
UK insurers face multi-million payouts after losing BI appeal
Courts ruled in favour of Financial Conduct Authority in business interruption test case
Free webinar: Asian CROs discuss regulatory change and market trends
Experts share experiences and best practice at 19 January webinar
Avoid prescriptive supervision of climate change risk, say European insurers
Insurance Europe responds to IAIS's consultation
Just Group "stronger and safer" after de-risking moves
UK life insurer completes a third NNEG hedge and sells equity-release mortgages
UK insurers reflect on reputational risk ahead of BI court case
The Chartered Insurance Institute said SMEs' satisfaction with insurers has dropped
Analysis
Climate change could radically reshape US insurance losses
Re/insurers in the US could face a 20% increase in hurricane-related property losses because of climate change. But that's just the average. In certain regions, the losses might be several times higher by 2050, as AIR Worldwide's Peter Sousounis explains to Christopher Cundy
Cloud outsourcing comes down to earth
Insurers are being pushed to better manage the operational risks arising from the use of cloud computing. There are some deep challenges involved, but regulations are arriving that might help, as Ronan McCaughey reports
Lawyer says he has "smoking gun" in US business interruption case
John Houghtaling, who is handling $3bn in claims on behalf of small businesses forced to close by Covid-19, believes his case will be a watershed for the US BI saga. Sarfraz Thind reports
Covid-19 vaccinations move the needle on mortality forecasts
With the UK's Covid-19 vaccination programme being rolled out, experts tell Cintia Cheong about its impact on mortality in 2021 and what insurers should consider when projecting mortality trends
"Responsible underwriting will become the norm"
Renaud Guidée, group chief risk officer at Axa, is spearheading the launch of a net-zero underwriting alliance, an industry initiative to tackle climate change through underwriting. He tells Cintia Cheong why it's needed and explains the challenges ahead
CROs pinpoint climate change as key issue for 2021
InsuranceERM's year-end poll of risk management experts found widespread agreement that climate change would be a key risk and opportunity for the insurance sector in 2021. Paul Walsh reports
EU and UK endorsement: the final hurdle
Cintia Cheong charts the endorsement of the IFRS 17 insurance contracts accounting standard in 2020 and explains what happens next
Germany's interest rate reserve gets bigger - and better
German life insurers paid more into the Zinszusatzreserve again in 2020, despite the new "corridor method" of calculation that intended to unburden the sector. Industry leaders tell David Walker the ZZR remains fit for purpose nonetheless
The new risks emerging from remote working
The long-term effects of relocating staff from offices to their homes, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are beginning to be understood. Risk managers have been satisfied in some respects, but deep concerns about staff wellbeing and the impacts on culture remain. Christopher Cundy reports
The politics of pandemics
Combatting the next pandemic will take a lot more than vaccines, according to Frank Schiller, a board member of Germany's actuarial association. To cover the risk, insurers will need a deft understanding and the ability to work closely with the political world, as Schiller explains to David Walker