Latest Insurance

3rd December 2023

Newslink Global Insurance Trends-Editor's Weekly Highlights
Trend

This week, Insurance Newslink continued its regular mid-week feature-highlighting key trends from articles over the last three months relating to Underwriting and Claims IT.
High government expenditures during the pandemic, coupled with global inflation and increased interest rates in 2023, have contributed to an escalating debt crisis in emerging markets, according to the latest Political Risk Index report released by WTW. According to new research released by Opengear, a Digi International company and provider of secure and Smart Out of Band management solutions, 94% of UK-based cios surveyed expressed serious concerns about at least one cybersecurity threat-the comprehensive survey encompassed responses from 502 cios and 510 network engineers in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia-for UK cios the primary cybersecurity concerns highlighted in the research included malware(36%), spam and phishing(36%), ransomware 36%), and insider threats(27%)-malware also emerged as a significant threat for 37% of the surveyed UK network engineers. AXA Climate, part of global insurer AXA Group, London-based broker Howden and Togo-based non-governmental organisation Pionners en Action pour le Développement Intégré à l’Environnement(PADIE) will be implementing a project for Togo’s fourth largest city including the capital city, Lomé-this project aims to establish predetermined financing in the case of a disaster, support climate change adaptation in these cities, and address upcoming trends in the coming years in West Africa: increasing droughts, intense rainfall, and floods(IPCC report).
The IAIS Global Insurance Market Report 2023 highlighted key risks and trends facing the global insurance sector-in addition to an aggregate overview of insurers’ solvency, profitability and liquidity, the report shares in-depth analyses conducted on two key themes:(1)interest rate, liquidity and credit risks in a challenging macroeconomic environment; and (2)structural shifts in the life insurance sector, including greater allocation of capital to alternative assets and increased reliance on cross-border asset-intensive reinsurance. Following on from UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, two British insurers, Legal & General and Rothesay, have secured deals totalling £8.8bn($11bn) to assume company pension liabilities, marking the largest UK deal to date and providing a significant boost to the UK’s pensions sector. A Europe-wide survey has shown that more than one-third of Europeans are not saving for their retirement and 40% of people indicating that the current economic circumstances had negatively impacted their pension contributions-Insurance Europe’s third pan-European pension survey interviewed nearly 16,000 citizens across 15 European countries-the results were published during European Retirement Week.
Majesco announced the availability of a new thought leadership report, "10 Trends Shaping the Future of Insurance in 2024"-the new report takes a detailed look at the top-of-mind issues insurers are facing as they look ahead to the upcoming year, including a need for a change in mindset–moving beyond a legacy, internal view to one recognising a world of continuous change that demands new technology and operating model as a foundation to adapt, innovate and deliver at speed as markets shift and change continues its relentless path forward. Polo Managing Agency(PMA), a turnkey managing agency at Lloyd’s, reported a new relationship with insurance technology company VIPR Solutions-the deal will enable PoloWorks’s managed delegated authority relationships to benefit from VIPR’s bordereaux management systems.
Swiss Re announced new IFRS targets, including a net income of more than $3.6bn for 2024 and a multi-year ROE of more than 14%. Aviva reported the acquisition of Optiom O2 Holdings from Novacap and other minority shareholders for consideration of c.£100m(c.CAD$170m-Optiom, which operates as a managing general agent, is a leading provider of vehicle replacement insurance in Canada and offers flexible payment options to customers. Apollo, the independent specialist insurer and reinsurer, has written its first two risks under its new Smart Follow venture, powered by Artificial, which was announced in September following a successful proof of concept. Carbon Underwriting targets significant premium growth in 2024-Syndicate 4747’s gross written premium will increase from £150m in 2023 to an expected £204m in 2024 across a growing number of new product lines and geographies to further support its international coverholder network. HDI Global published latest financials.


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