International P&C insurance news: December 2020
A round-up of recent international insurance news from Australia, Canada, Austria, and more.
Editor’s Note: Here is a round-up of recent property & casualty insurance news from outside the U.S.
The United Kingdom approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, becoming the first county to do so. Experts say the decision will put pressure on the U.S. FDA to soon do the same.
Canadian insurer Intact Financial Corporation and Danish insurer Tryg A/S (Tryg) reached an agreement to acquire RSA Insurance Group plc (RSA), the companies announced on Nov. 18. Intact will take over RSA’s Canada, U.K., and International operations; Tryg will retain RSA’s Sweden and Norway operations, and Intact and Tryg will co-own RSA’s Denmark business.
Hurricane Iota became the strongest hurricane on record to hit Nicaragua when it made landfall on Nov. 16. Iota also is the strongest hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season and record 30th named storm this year. Areas of Columbia, Guatemala, and Honduras also were affected. More than 200 died across the region from the storm, according to the BBC.
German insurer Allianz SE announced that it canceled a share buyback program that was originally suspended earlier in the year as the company continues to suffer from COVID-19 losses. As a result, the company will not repurchase some 750 million euros of shares that were still left the program this year. According to Bloomberg, Allianz experienced 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in virus-related losses by the end of September, up from about 1.2 billion euros in the first six months of the year.
More than half of Canadian small businesses have seen their insurance premiums increase over the past 12 months, says a new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). According to the CFIB, one in six small businesses reported an increase of 25% or more to their insurance premiums, with companies in the hospitality, transportation, and agriculture sectors seeing the biggest hits. The survey also found that 9% of businesses said they could not secure insurance coverage for their needs within the past 12 months, with that number rising to 14% and 12% for hospitality and transportation businesses, respectively.
Australia will implement new initiatives in the country’s fight against wildfires, according to a Bloomberg article. Primarily, new laws will be introduced to allow the federal government to declare a state of emergency. The government also will enhance its emergency management capability, ensure the improved collection of natural disaster data, and create a national disaster recovery agency.
A survey of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom by Global Data found that 63.6% of all SMEs are either somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with their insurer’s performance in terms of “communication about the impact of coronavirus on my insurance cover.” Only 9.4% were unsatisfied with the communication, GlobalData found.
AXA SA announced that it sold the stakes of its Persian Gulf business, including Axa Gulf, Axa Cooperative Insurance Company and Axa Green Crescent Insurance Company, for $269 million to the Kuwait-based Gulf Insurance Group. “This transaction marks another step in AXA’s continued simplification journey. We are convinced that AXA’s operations in the Gulf region will benefit from GIG’s leadership and scale in the region, to further pursue their focus on delivering growth and excellent customer service,” said AXA CEO Thomas Buberl in a statement.
Austrian insurer Vienna Insurance Group AG agreed to purchase Aegon NV’s business in central and eastern Europe and Turkey for 830 million euros ($990 million), Bloomberg reported. The transaction will make Viena Insurance Group the largest insurer in Hungary and will also strengthen its footprint in Poland, Turkey, and Romania.
Vietnam’s general insurance industry is forecasted to grow at 3.4% in 2020, says a report from GlobalData. The sector saw a 13.6% growth in 2019.
London-based Miller, a specialist insurance broker owned by Willis Towers Watson, recently to an acquisition deal with Cinven, a global private equity firm. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte is also has a part in the deal. The transaction’s financial terms were not disclosed; however, Bloomberg reported that Miller’s business is valued at about 680 million pounds ($896 million).