Business Insurance

First-half global insurtech funding hits record $7.4B

Global insurtech funding reached a record $7.4 billion in the first half of this year, exceeding full-year totals for any previous year, according to Willis Tower Watson PLC’s quarterly InsurTech Briefing released Thursday.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

CFC Underwriting names Newman CEO

London-based cyber insurer CFC Underwriting Ltd. has named chief innovation officer Graeme Newman as CEO, effective immediately, succeeding founder and current CEO Dave Walsh, who has been named group CEO.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Hartford’s Q2 profit soars 94%

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $900 million, up 94% from the year-earlier period, driven in part by written premium and underwriting gains in commercial lines and a decrease in COVID-19-related losses.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Policies reduced opioid prescriptions in comp: WCRI

State prescription drug monitoring programs reduced the amount of opioids prescribed by 12% in the first year of implementation, according to a study by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Latin America insurance market expected to grow 4.8% a year

Nicolss Deino, executive director for the financial industry at Accenture Chile, said that the Latin American insurance market would grow 4.8% a year through 2025.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Peak Re to acquire remaining 50% stake in Caribbean insurer

Hong Kong-based Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd. has agreed to acquire the remaining 50% stake in St. Maarten-based insurer Nagico Holdings Ltd., subject to regulatory approvals.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Axis Capital’s net income more than doubles in second quarter

Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.’s net income more than doubled to $228 million in the second quarter as compared to the year-ago comparable period.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Uber fails to protect personal data of over 1 million Australians

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has found Uber Technologies Inc. in violation of Australia’s privacy rules after it failed to the protect personal data of an estimated 1.2 million Australians.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Scor’s net income jumps nearly 1,400%

France-based reinsurer Scor SE’s net income surged 1,361.5% year-on-year to €380 million ($447 million) in the first half of the year versus €26 million in the year-ago comparable period.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

Sasria may face over $1 billion property claims from riots

South Africa’s Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni said that the state-owned insurer Sasria SOC Ltd. could face up to 20 billion South African rand ($1.35 billion) in insurance claims for property damages during the recent riots.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

ESG to factor into executive compensation: Truist

Truist Financial Corp. said environmental, social and governance will be among the factors that the board of directors will evaluate in considering executive compensation in 2021.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

British drone insurer Flock raises $17M

British drone insurer Flock has raised $17 million from investors in early-stage funding led by venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital, Flock said Thursday.

Posted: Jul 29, 2021

TSA hasn’t fully addressed pipeline cybersecurity issues: GAO

The Transportation Security Administration has failed to fully address two key pipeline cybersecurity-related weaknesses, a U.S. Government Accountability Office official said in testimony before a Senate committee Tuesday.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Calif. COVID-19 claim costs projected to be $1B: WCIRB

Projected COVID-19 workers compensation claim costs for accident years 2020 and 2021 in California are projected to be more than $1 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Germany flood losses could push $6B: AIR

Insured losses in Germany from July flooding could reach 5 billion euros ($5.90 billion), according to a note Wednesday from AIR Worldwide, a Verisk Analytics Inc. business.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Indian state suffers nearly $540 million damage from floods

Torrential rains and floods that recently ravaged the Indian state of Maharashtra caused an estimated 40 billion Indian rupees ($537 million) worth of losses and killed 209 people.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Trade credit insurance surges amid COVID-19 uncertainty

Demand for trade credit insurance in India increased 30% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, as more businesses fear risk of payment delays and defaults due to a cash crunch spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Port operator declares force majeure after ransomware hit

A ransomware attack on South African ports on July 22 and the resulting disruptions have forced the state-owned ports and rail freight company Transnet SOC Ltd. to declared force majeure.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

City under “extreme danger” warning after plant explosion

German civil protection authority issued an “extreme danger” warning in the German city of Leverkusen for possible release of toxic gases after an explosion at the Chempark industrial site on July 27.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Insured loss from deadly China floods to exceed $1.25 billion

U.S.-based Fitch Ratings Inc. expects insured losses from the recent deadly floods in the central Chinese province of Henan to surpass $1.25 billion.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Chubb posts strong profit on double-digit global premium growth

Chubb Ltd. swung to a profit for the second quarter from a loss in the year-earlier period as it posted double-digit premium growth globally, driven by a strong commercial property/casualty pricing environment.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Florida COVID-19 comp claims plunged in June

The number of compensable COVID-19 workers compensation indemnity claims in Florida dropped to their lowest level to date in June, according to a report released Tuesday by the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

States create heat stress standards to protect workers

Temperature spikes throughout the U.S. and especially the Pacific Northwest have brought the issue of heat stress to the forefront, with multiple states and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration crafting standards to protect worke...

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

Aon reorganizes leadership after scrapping Willis acquisition

Two days after announcing it was pulling out of its deal to buy its nearest rival, Aon PLC said Wednesday that it was reorganizing its leadership ranks.

Posted: Jul 28, 2021

White House says terminated Aon-Willis deal shows ‘robust enforcement'

The White House on Tuesday praised the Justice Department’s successful effort to stop a $30 billion deal that would have created the world’s biggest insurance broker, saying the agency’s work was “robust enforcement of the antitrust laws.”

Posted: Jul 28, 2021