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According to JLU, the new policy’s wordings respond to new and emerging risks resulting from the pandemic, which will allow brokers to build flexible and customized travel cover for their clients. 

The MGA offers annual multi-trip policies that brokers can quickly bind or renew through its online portal. Producing a travel pattern is not required, so brokers only need to know the number of trips per annum.

The policy, which is underwritten by Ergo Travel Insurance Services Limited on behalf of Great Lakes Insurance, covers incidental holidays for all employees, as well as family members of directors/owners covered while accompanying them on business trips, including incidental holidays.

Upon referral, JLU will look at extending cover for travel to destinations against Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advice, as long as the advice limits travel to essential purposes due to COVID-19.

The product’s launch comes after JLU took over the British Insurance Brokers’ Association-endorsed Holiday Travel Plus and Sports Travel scheme for a three-year period. Travel specialist Dipesh Patel also recently joined the company as senior travel underwriter.

“Employers have a duty of care towards any employee travelling on behalf of the business, and as with many aspects of corporate life post-COVID, that duty of care has changed or been extended,” Patel said. “For example, if the insured, a close relative, a member of their household or a travelling companion or friend with whom they had arranged to stay has a diagnosis of COVID-19 within 14 days of a booked departure date, cancellation of the trip is covered under our policy. If a trip is cut short due to a family member dying from COVID-19, then the policy will cover the cost of returning home early. We also offer additional daily benefit cash payment if the insured has to self-isolate in your holiday accommodation abroad. Our business travel policy offers such extensive and tailored COVID-19 related cover to give employers peace of mind that they are doing everything they can to support their employees whilst travelling on business.”

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“At Swiss Re, we’ve always said that we want to be progressive,” said Pasricha. “We are a 158-year-old company. We’re the bellwether, the backstop (whatever you want to call it) of the industry, but we’re also responsible for innovation. As a reinsurer, we take a large part of the risk in the industry. Therefore, we need to be part of the solution and we need to drive and enable innovation.”

Read next: Lloyd’s announces next insurtechs joining innovation program

Swiss Re launched its P&C solutions unit in 2017, with the aim of helping clients to make better underwriting and pricing decisions by using data analytics tools and other technology solutions.

The P&C Solutions unit helps insurers to increase their efficiency, steer their portfolios, and grow into new markets and segments. Its core areas of focus include: P&C analytics, property & specialty, cyber, liability, parametric, automotive & mobility, SwiftRe (online risk placement/management), and innovation.

“The tone at Swiss Re is really set by the top from our group CEO Christian Mumenthaler and all of our executive leadership,” said Pasricha. “They have the vision [which is clear through] Swiss Re P&C Solutions, to say: ‘These are the kinds of things that the industry struggles with, and this is why we want to provide these solutions to the industry.’ I think the ethos of innovation has to be driven from the top.”

One challenge that the insurance industry sometimes struggles to surpass is its inherent conservatism. The industry has to maintain a healthy balance sheet in order to meet its main purpose, but there’s always a possibility that supporting innovation and underwriting emerging risks could cause some financial turbulence.  

“The balance is always: How do you take those baby steps? How do you make progress in the industry, try and test new technology, but still make sure that you’re solid in terms of your underwriting?” Pasricha commented. “That’s the kind of balance that we always strived for at Swiss Re – making sure that the technology we deploy works. We test it and work with our partners to make sure all the kinks are ironed out, and that’s when we launch. It is a big culture and mindset issue, but we’re also very actively being clear that we will strive for that balance.” 

Read more: Genasys’ co-CEOs on what the UK insurance industry is calling out for

It’s all about sustainability, Pasricha added. There are some innovators in the insurance industry – in fact, all industries – who deliver innovation hype, but cannot sustain their activity to deliver innovation success.  

“If you can’t sustainably produce good underwriting results, it doesn’t work and you’re not helping the industry,” said Pasricha. “If you’re in the business of creating flash in the market – creating brand, hype, and customer pull – and then trying to get sold and create lots of money for private equity, OK, that does work. But if you’re going to be sustainable, you need to make sure you’re solid on underwriting, and that takes a lot more work.”  

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MS Amlin Underwriting Limited (MS AUL) has appointed Julie Hopes to its board as an independent non-executive director.

Hopes will also assume the role of chair of the risk and solvency committee later this year, a statement from the company said. She will take over from Gilles Bonvarlet, who is retiring from the MS AUL Board after over eight years as director.

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Aon has been appointed to provide its new investment service for captive insurers to the Noble Insurance Company DAC, the Ireland-based captive insurer of food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz. Aon works with Goldman Sachs to deliver the service, which aims to make it simpler for captive insurers to identify and access appropriate, high-quality and yield-enhancing investments.

Noble provides insurance coverage to the Kraft Heinz Company. Coverage is provided to Kraft Heinz member firms that are domiciled in the European Union, Aon said. Noble is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HJ Heinz Ireland Holdings, which is in turn owned by Kraft Heinz.

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Man-made disasters accounted for an estimated US$2 billion in insured losses in the first half. That’s lower than average, likely reflecting COVID-19 restrictions, Swiss Re Institute said.

“The effects of climate change are manifesting in warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, more erratic rainfall patterns and greater weather extremes,” said Martin Bertogg, head of cat perils at Swiss Re. “Taken together with rapid urban development and accumulation of wealth in disaster-prone areas, secondary perils, such as winter storms, hail, floods or wildfires, lead to even higher catastrophe losses.

“The experience so far in 2021 underscores the growing risks of these perils, exposing ever-larger communities to extreme climate events. For example, winter storm Uri reached the loss magnitude that peak perils like hurricanes can wreak. The insurance industry needs to upscale its risk assessment capabilities for these lesser monitored perils to maintain and expand its contribution to financial resilience.”

The report estimated global economic losses from disasters at US$77 billion for the first half. That’s below the 10-year average of US$108 billion. However, the economic loss figure is expected to rise as more losses are accounted for over the next few months. The first half of the year is also not usually representative of the full-year figures, as the third quarter is historically the most prone to natural catastrophe losses.

Of the total estimated economic losses in the first half, US$74 billion were caused by natural catastrophes, while man-made catastrophes accounted for US$3 billion. Nearly 4,500 people were killed or went missing in disaster events in the first half, Swiss Re Institute reported.

Natural catastrophe losses were pushed up by extreme weather events. In February, winter storm Uri – a period of extreme cold combined with heavy snowfall and ice accumulation in the US – triggered estimated insured losses of US$15 billion, the highest ever recorded in the US for this peril. Winter storm Uri accounted for about 38% of all estimated insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first half.

In June, Europe was hit by severe weather including thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes, causing estimated insured losses of US$4.5 billion.

At the end of June, extreme heat broke temperature records in western Canada and the northwestern US, with temperatures reaching more than 115 degrees. The heat, coupled with severe drought conditions, sparked wildfires that moved south to California.

“Climate change is one of the biggest risks facing society and the global economy,” said Jérôme Jean Haegeli, group chief economist at Swiss Re. “The recent analysis from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms expectations of more extreme weather in the future and urgency to act to limit global warming. Working with the public sector, the reinsurance industry plays a key role in helping to strengthen communities’ resilience by steering development away from high-risk areas, making adaptation investments, maintaining insurability of assets and narrowing protection gaps.”

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has received a total of 2,754 allegations of misconduct for the year ended March 31.

According to the FCA’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21, the complaints were filed by 1,046 whistleblowers regarding fraud, money laundering and compliance violations. A total of 184 individuals and firms are under investigation for carrying out unauthorised business. The FCA issued a total of £189.8 million in financial penalties, alongside a number of prosecutions for alleged insider dealing, investment fraud or money laundering.

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Gallagher has enlisted seasoned legal and aviation expert Nick Hughes (pictured above) as consultant for its global aerospace practice.

According to the international brokerage, Hughes will support client-facing teams by providing legal input to complex insurance coverage, claims and contractual issues. He will also help grow Gallagher’s aerospace client base.

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Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has appointed Marilyn Blattner-Hoyle (pictured) as global head trade finance in its global credit and surety unit.

In this leadership role, Blattner-Hoyle will be responsible for the origination and underwriting activities across the trade finance portfolio, focusing on the development of growth opportunities, implementation of Swiss Re’s business strategy and the digitisation of its offering.

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The students will be able to take additional CII units at roughly a third of the amount charged to insurance and financial advice professionals. Students who are taking up CII qualification will become CII members for the duration of their studies.

This, the CII said, will give students access to local institute networking events, mentoring schemes and career support.

“Our Scottish corporate customers want fresh talent, which is why we work with local universities to help students in the region gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours they require to access a career in the insurance profession,” said Sian Fisher, CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute. “We are delighted to work with one of our longstanding partners in the region, Glasgow Caledonian University (Glasgow), to innovate and develop their offering to attract more fresh talent to the profession.”

GCU is the latest among several British universities that have partnered with the CII to provide students with a pathway into the insurance industry.

Other universities include the University of East Anglia, Coventry University, Blackburn College, Manchester Metropolitan and the University of Gloucestershire.

“As a council member of the Insurance and Actuarial Society of Glasgow, I recognise this is a great opportunity for our students to gain a qualification from the CII, alongside their GCU degree, that will help them access a rewarding career helping improve consumer’s financial resilience and wellbeing, which aligns with GCU’s ‘Common Good’ mission,” said Dr Patrick Ring, reader in financial services in GCU’s department of accounting and risk.

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Ed, a global insurance and reinsurance broker, has integrated its e-trading platform with Ki’s algorithmic underwriting.

Ki is a fully digital and algorithmically-driven Lloyd’s of London syndicate offering instant capacity, accessible at any time.

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