Have we got bad news for you?
So, another week of lockdown for the vast majority of us and unfortunately, another bumpy week for insurers. Our news feeds and front pages have been full of Coronavirus; death, survival, PPE and heroes and villains (or “covidiots” – surely a contender for word of the year?). The insurance press and national business pages have not strayed far from this rhetoric either. And insurers seem to be at the centre of more than a light disquiet.
Hiscox – the Business Interruption lighting rod
Hiscox seem to continue to be the focus for refused business interruption claims as the global insurer fought back this week against, amongst others, a communications agency who’s been handling comms for a group of policyholders considering a class action.
According to the Insurance Insider, Hiscox may have broader policy wordings than other insurers, and so legal action would hinge on the precise wordings and context in which the policies were designed. The unfolding battle has not gone unnoticed by the national press with The Sunday Times, Guardian and BBC reporting on it. For their part, Hiscox has been holding firm against BI claims from small businesses resulting from the pandemic, saying the policies were not designed to cover the ‘extraordinary circumstances caused by this pandemic’.
The FCA steps in, sort of
Another dear ‘CEO letter’ was delivered this week, this time from the FCA to (re)insurers on the subject of Business Interruption. Who’d have thought it?
The top line, as they say, was that ‘the FCA saw no reasonable grounds to intervene in BI claims for COVID-19 losses where pandemics are not a feature of the policies’. In the letter, a stern looking interim FCA chief Christopher Woolard said that it was clear to the regulator that most policies have basic cover and do not cover pandemics. Therefore, carriers would not be obliged to pay out in relation to the COVID-19, and that he saw no reasonable grounds to intervene in such circumstances.
The assumption now is that UK insurers are unlikely to be forced to pay for COVID-19 losses of policyholders who didn’t have suitable protection. Common sense it seems prevails, for now.
California law makers
In other business interruption news... California’s Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has asked for insurers to investigate all BI claims caused by COVID-19. The US state has received numerous complaints from businesses about carriers trying to dissuade policyholders from filing claims. The notice requires carriers to comply with their contractual obligations and fairly investigate all BI claims caused by the pandemic.
Earlier this week, the same state Commissioner ordered carriers to give customers rebates across at least six lines of P&C business to reflect the drop in risk exposure caused by the reduction in economic activity. Will other states follow suit?
Assessing the financial impact of COVID-19
One fact impossible to escape is the financial impact the pandemic is and will have on insurers, businesses and global economies. But how bad could this impact be? Many of us have been ‘doomscrolling’; (screen time devoted to the absorption of dystopian news, and surely another contender for word of the year?) Could the pandemic create a recession to rival the Great Depression, as some are predicting?
Whilst the cost to global economies is likely to run into the trillions of dollars, aside from the reputational costs, how might the pandemic affect insurers financially? Some more clues out this week; Bermudian (re)insurer Arch said that it was expecting losses of up to $145mn, on top of a substantial investment income declines. American Financial Group said that earnings per share would be around 26 per cent lower than forecast.
Elsewhere, insurance sector share prices are almost uniformly down again this week.
So, what might the final bill be? Well, with some healthy caveats, UBS said this week that COVID-19 will cost the global (re)insurance industry between $22bn and $42bn. This would include between $5bn and $15bn of BI losses.
On a more positive note, insurers helping NHS
Amongst the doom and gloom and the stark warnings of reputational damage, there are signs of insurers ‘doing the right thing’.
Insurance Times and others reported this week that Aviva has introduced a range of measures designed to support NHS staff, or those facing financial strain as a result of the pandemic. The insurer is now offering NHS staff a range of measures, including free breakdown cover, a free courtesy car and priority repairs on motor claims.
First Underwriting also announced this week they are offering NHS staff 30% off car insurance for leased vehicles as public transport restrictions affect health workers’ ability to get to work.
UK to follow US motor insurers’ lead?
UK motor insurers should be watching the US carefully as two leading car insurers have given policyholders partial refunds as the lockdown leads to a dramatic fall in vehicle use and claims. With a similarly dramatic decline in car usage here in the UK (according to government data, road use has declined by 73% as of 29th March), what are the chances of a similar gesture? Certainly, the industry could do with some more good news to spread.
For further reading on these stories;
https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132677/hiscox-bi-dispute-hangs-in-balance-lawyers