Source: Business Insurance

September 03, 2019 American International Group Inc. said that the number of insurance claims related to cybercrime nearly doubled in 2018 from 2017 amid a rise in the number of threats, IT Pro Portal reported. Business email compromise scams accounted for nearly a quarter of claims, ransomware accounted for 18% and data breaches 14% in the Europe Middle East and Africa region in 2018.

September 03, 2019 Analysis by U.S.-based Pacific Disaster Center found that Hurricane Dorian is likely to cause more than $8 billion in losses in the Bahamas, The Tribune reported. The storm is likely to have damaged communication, power and transportation infrastructure across northwestern Bahamas including Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Source: Business Insurance

September 03, 2019 The U.K.’s insurance sector is moving £61 billion ($75 billion) worth of business to financial centers in the European Union due to Brexit, Bloomberg reported. The Bank of England said that about £5 billion worth of insurance policies will still be in the United Kingdom if Brexit takes place on Oct. 31. Lloyd’s of London said that it would transfer its entire £3 billion worth of EU business by Oct. 31, 2020.

Source: Business Insurnace

August 28, 2019 A report found that crises such as cyberattacks, extortion, industrial espionage and terrorism cost small and mid-sized firms in the United Kingdom £8.8 billion ($10.8 billion) in 2018, Professional Security reported. Research by U.S.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. found that nearly 20% of SMEs affected by a crisis spent at least £10,000 to combat the situation, and almost 10% paid more than £20,000.

Source: Business Insurance

August 28, 2019 U.S.-based Karen Clark & Co. said that a large earthquake with a magnitude higher than the 1923 Kanto temblor could cause up to $3 trillion in property losses in the Tokyo region, Artemis.bm reports. The catastrophe risk modeler said that insurance and reinsurance currently cover about 15% of Japan’s total earthquake loss potential.

Source: Business Insurance

August 28, 2019 Barbados called for a near-total shutdown of all businesses on Aug. 26 after tropical storm Dorian barreled toward the Caribbean island, The Irish Times reported citing sources. U.S.-based National Hurricane Center issued storm warnings for the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados in the Caribbean region.

Source: Business Insurance

August 28, 2019 U.S.-based ratings agency A.M. Best Co. said that the global reinsurance operating environment remains “less than optimal” for traditional reinsurers, Artemis reports. The rating agency believes that the market remains incredibly competitive and that major reinsurers continue to utilize reserve releases to remain profitable.While the outlook is looking better for reinsurers than a couple of years ago, it is far from certain as pressures of excess capital in the industry, the competition from capital markets players, the shift to more direct business, as well as disruption caused by technology and newer ways of doing reinsurance business, all still present their challenges to the traditional business model. Reinsurance firms largely have robust balance sheet strength and continue to generate positive operating results despite what A.M. Best sees as “persistent underwriting and pricing pressures from extremely competitive market conditions.” Since 2018 the reinsurance market has begun to shift in favour of reinsurance capital providers, A.M. Best explains.

Source: Business Insurance

August 22, 2019 (Reuters) — Electric luxury cars and sport utility vehicles may be 40% more likely to cause accidents than their standard engine counterparts, possibly because drivers are still getting used to their quick acceleration, French insurer Axa said. The numbers, based on initial trends from claims data and not statistically significant, also suggest small and micro electric cars are slightly less likely to cause accidents than their combustion engine counterparts, Axa said at a crash test demonstration on Thursday. Axa regularly carries out crash tests for vehicles. This year’s tests, which took place at a disused airport, focused on electric cars. Overall accident rates for electric vehicles are about the same as for regular cars, according to liability insurance claims data for “7,000-year risks” — on 1,000 autos on the road for seven years — said Bettina Zahnd, head of accident research and prevention at Axa Switzerland.

Source: Business Insurance

August 27, 2019 The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency said that 98 companies have opened branches in the country because of Brexit, Dutch News reports. Of these companies, around half have shifted operations from Britain and the rest are Asian and U.S. firms.

Source: Business Insurance

August 27, 2019 A report by Forbes Insights said that up to 84% of chief information security officers expect cyber attacks to increase, Tech Observer reports. Nearly 25% of CISOs believe the capabilities of attackers are outpacing their ability to defend their organization.