LLOYD’S PREDICTS $203-B LOSSES FOR INSURERS BECAUSE OF PANDEMIC

Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance exchange, has predicted a total of $203 billion in losses for insurers after the COVID-19 pandemic practically hit the entire planet.

Writing for Bloomberg, Benjamin Robertson said the projected losses include about $107 billion from underwriting claims, with the rest from insurers’ investment portfolios. The claims costs are on a par with some of the most catastrophic hurricanes of recent years and could rise further if the virus is not stopped.

“Once the scale and complexity of the social and economic impact of COVID-19 is fully understood, the overall cost to the global insurance non-life industry is likely to be far in excess of those historical events,” Lloyd’s said.  It said it will pay out in the range of $3 billion to $4.3 billion to global customers, which is at par with its payments for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

The pandemic, which has infected at least 4.2 million and killed nearly 300,000, has confronted the insurance industry with its biggest challenge to date and triggered a deluge of claims related to the scrubbing of many events, business interruptions and other costs. It also threatened a global recession that has put the payment of many household and business insurance premiums at risk. #coronavirusimpact #COVID19