The outbreak of COVID-19 acute respiratory disease may cause a significant economic impact for businesses and individuals. Business closures, lost sales and cancelled or lost rentals will naturally give rise to questions as respects business interruption and loss of rent coverage under property policies.

Business Interruption Insurance

Most standard Business Interruption and Loss of Rent policies provide cover if your property has suffered a loss by an insured peril. Therefore, it is intended to respond if the building or property that you use/occupy/rent is damaged, destroyed or suffers a material damage loss that is covered by your property insurance. Below are a list of the standard insured perils.

• Fire,
• Lightning,
• Explosion,
• Earthquake and/or volcanic eruption,
• Hurricane, cyclone, tornado or windstorm,
• Flood,
• Aircraft and other aerial devices,
• Escape of water from any tank apparatus or pipe,
• Impact by road vehicle or animal,
• Riot, Civil commotion, strikers

Subject to each insurers policy wording.

Physical Damage

The trigger for any property insurance policy and resulting Business Interruption / Loss of Rent coverage is physical damage to insured property by an insured peril. Therefore, any business interruption loss resulting from infectious disease is not intended to be covered and is specifically excluded under most policies.

For More Information

It is critical to review each policy of insurance in its entirety to determine the extent, if any, of coverage available for the effects of the coronavirus. If you have specific coverage questions, please contact your policy representative.

The Cayman Islands Insurance Association (CIIA) would like to notify residents of the Cayman Islands that they should anticipate increases in their property insurance premium rates in 2020.

The Atlantic region has been affected by high hurricane activity in recent years. In 2017 there were 17 storms, the major ones being hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria with insured losses of over US$90 billion. Then 2019 saw the fourth-most active hurricane season on record with hurricane Dorian alone generating insured losses in excess of US$8billion across all territories affected by the storm. As a result of this, international reinsurers have increased their coverage costs for the region.

The basic principle of insurance and reinsurance is the pooling of all premiums received to pay for the claims of those that have suffered losses. Although we in the Cayman Islands have been fortunate to avoid any major hurricane losses since Hurricane Ivan in 2004, we fall into the same reinsurance pool bracket in the Caribbean and face similar risks and consequently, it is necessary to increase premium rates this year. These increases are likely to be between 10% to 30% dependent on various factors such as type of construction, protections, property location and elevation.

The CIIA appreciates your understanding and if you have any questions please reach out to your local insurance representatives.

Source: Business Insurance

November 05, 2019 Pirates have kidnapped 13 crewmembers on two European-flagged ships in the Gulf of Guinea, Euronews reported. Four crew members on a Greek oil tanker were kidnapped on Oct. 4 after pirates boarded the boat off the coast of Togo, while eight people were kidnapped from a Norwegian cargo boat on Nov. 2 during a similar incident off the coast of Benin.

November 05, 2019 The Bahamas Insurance Association said that the country’s primary insurers could pay out $1.5 billion for claims related to hurricane Dorian, Artemis reports citing The Tribune. As a result of these high levels of claim payouts, reinsurance rates are expected to rise during renewal of coverage.

Source: Business Insurance

November 05, 2019 More complex technology has improved safety across the aviation industry but is driving higher values and cost of repairs and increasing concerns about pilots’ overreliance on aircraft automation systems, according to a report from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Tuesday. The crash of two Boeing 737 Max 8 jets within five months in 2018 and 2019 and other high-profile incidents highlight the challenges of interaction between pilots and technologically advanced systems, the report said. “Overall, pilot training standards have changed and improved over recent decades, but systems can still fail or be incorrectly operated, albeit rarely, and there needs to be a continued focus on pilots flying with and without automation in training,” the report said. Pilots need to be better prepared to be able to take corrective actions in the event of a technical malfunction or adverse circumstance, the report said.

Source: Business Insurance

November 05, 2019 The insurance and allied industries, including the actuarial sector, have been encouraged by progress in the quest for an extension of the federal terrorism insurance backstop program, observers say. They applaud both the U.S. House of Representatives’ early action on the bill, over a year in advance of the current extension’s expiration at the end of next year, as well as the addition of a provision for a study on cyber exposures. The amended bill differed from the original introduced in House to extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop by requiring a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office “on cyber terrorism risks, and require biennial Treasury reporting that includes disaggregated data on places of worship.” The amended bill also shortens the extension to seven years from the original bill’s 10 years.

Source: Business Insurance

November 06, 2019 The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) said that the grounding of U.S.-based aerospace firm The Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX has impeded air traffic growth in Europe, Air Transport World reported. Eurocontrol expects air traffic growth to come down by 0.3-0.4 percentage points by the end of the year if the aircraft does not return to service by then, and 0.6-0.9 percentage points by Easter.

Source: Business Insurance

November 06, 2019 Japan’s agriculture ministry said that typhoons Faxai and Hagibis caused more than 253 billion Japanese yen ($2.2 billion) worth of damage to the country’s agriculture, forestry and fishing industries, The Japan Times reports. Typhoon Faxai hit Japan in September, while typhoon Hagibis wreaked havoc in October.

Source: Business Insurance

October 16, 2019 The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has suspended a state contract of Nuemera (M) Sdn Bhd for failing to protect the personal data of 46.2 million mobile phone accounts, The Star reports. The commission terminated the contract in January 2018 following a massive data breach of its Public Cellular Blocking Service, which was operated by Nuemera.

Source: Business Insurance

October 16, 2019 The Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA) said that 45 flights were cancelled at Barcelona–El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport in Spain on Oct. 15 due to protests, in addition to the 110 that were cancelled on Oct. 14, Euronews reported citing Reuters. Jordi Munoz, a spokesman for AENA, said that no delays or cancellations are planned for Oct. 16 and Oct. 17.