Month: January 2021

20Jan

The Increased Risks for Directors & Officers in the Time of Covid

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant financial and operational damages in various business sectors around the world.

Many companies have reported drops in revenue at the end of 2020 with foreseen losses continuing this year. Some have need to stop all commercial activities altogether, let go of employees and sell company assets in order to maintain cash flow.

In addition, many businesses have shared that they have received numerous requests for the renegotiation or termination of initial contracts with some requests leading to litigation given the shifts in some employee duties and tasks.

In this context, it is easy to picture conflicts involving directors and officers liability – for instance, with respect to their selection of loss-mitigation actions which may later result in a loss of revenue.

In such situations, it can be difficult to determine which damages were actually because of the company’s decision-makers or which were solely a consequence of the pandemic.

Insurance providers are facing the same challenges as their policyholders. In Asia, insurers have taken the steps to determine the new risks for managers and executives.

There’s increased risk for directors and officers  – thus the need for more comprehensive D&O Insurance policy because of the following:

– Company directors may be held liable for losses when they cannot supply customer demand due to COVID-19. Threats of litigation over a supply chain disruption are quite possible for large losses.

– Lay-offs, non-payment of disability pay, and loss of employee healthcare have been a reality for many companies. This opens directors and officers to lawsuits for wrongful termination or breach of contract on a massive scale.

– In the event of essential businesses that require employees to come to work instead of working from home, decision-makers may also be liable when members of their operations staff get sick with the virus. This is especially a liability risk if the company is found negligent of observing proper health protocols.

Watch this 2-minute video to further understand the value of a D&O insurance policy:

In complicated situations such as the current pandemic, directors and officers are held to higher standards of diligence. Their jobs require careful calculations, planning and strategising. There should be a great consideration for the risks of fraud and other unlawful acts.

Thus, the expectation from managers increases simultaneously with the level of severity of a situation in which their decisions are regarded.

As 2021 progresses, more questions have arisen about the scope of a manger’s or director’s responsibilities. What’s certain is that last year’s events have forced companies to troubleshoot unique situations with plenty of uncertainty on how to do so.

 

11Jan

5 Changes in Travel with the Vaccine

Vaccine approval that came in the tail-end of 2020 has left travellers wondering what changes they should expect this year.

And as many countries ramp-up vaccinations, the world is once again left in the dark with the new strain of the virus that led to more shutdowns and closed borders.

Given the current situation, what changes can we expect?

VACCINATION PASSPORTS

Qantas Airlines stated in November that it will require proof of vaccination from their passengers once a vaccine is approved. This serves as an onset of what other airlines will do to ensure health and safety.

Many airlines are currently testing technology to streamline the health documentation process, including mobile health apps like CommonPass, ICC AOKpass and VeriFLY to ensure travellers can show their health data in a secure, verifiable way.

it is important to note, however, that until the vaccine is widely distributed, rigorous screening and quarantining will remain a key part of the travel experience — before and after travelling.

SOARING TRAVEL COSTS

Depending on the destination, foreign visitors will still be required to quarantine for periods ranging between 14 to 21 days. The new COVID strain has pushed many countries to require extended quarantine which means added cost for food, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses.

The tourism industry has also adapted to travel bubbles in which a set of tourist destinations agree to accommodate a group of while keeping doors to new visitors closed. As a result, a person or group that’s planning to stay for only five days in a country will have to stay the same number of days with the batch they with whom they arrived. As such, one can incur additional expenses.

REDUCED CAPACITY & SHORTED ITINERARIES FOR CRUISES 

Most cruises will return sailing at a reduced capacity with limited routes. In the US, initial trips will be limited to 7 days, according to C.D.C. guidelines. Masks will be mandatory in all public areas including outdoor decks. Screening and testing will also be mandatory.

Even with intensified safety measures, several cruise lines in Europe and the Caribbean that sailed in recent months were ordered to cut trips short after reporting outbreaks.

BUSINESS TRAVEL UNLIKELY TO PICK-UP IN FIRST PART OF 2021

Travelling for business is not expected to recover soon with many businesses moving operations online. Majority of airline recovery will be from leisure travel during the first half of the year.

Frequent businesses flyers with points have also been assured that they’d still be able to use their points for future flights. What’s more likely to happen is that there will be an increase in value in how flier miles can be used in the first few quarters of 2021.

Finally, in relation to cruises and air travel, agencies and transportation providers are expected to roll out more flexible cancellation policies to last at least through 2022 or longer.

TRAVEL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

An emphasis on travel insurance with repatriation and Covid-dedicated policies are also anticipated to emerge as Visa requirements. Expect insurance providers to offer new products that cater to these needs in the early part of 2021.

As it stands, there’s still a lot of uncertainty with international travel. Domestic holidays will prove to be the simpler and more cost-effective alternative for the lockdown-weary.

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Need help with travel insurance? We help find the best policies for expats in Hong Kong.

5Jan

Insurance Industry Outlook for 2021

What changes will the insurance industry undergo with the lessons learned from 2020? What transformations are to be expected?

Here are some of our insights:

The pandemic and ensuing economic fallout essentially shifted consumer and employee needs, practices, and expectations, while pushing digitization of insurer operations quite quickly. But while most of those in the industry adjusted, insurers are will likely face lingering challenges to growth and profitability this year.

A survey by Deloitte with 200 insurance providers reported that 48% of executives recognised that the pandemic proved how unprepared most providers were to endure this type of economic storm. The same survey also showed that only 25% out of the 200 strongly agreed their providers had “a clear vision and action plan to maintain operational and financial resilience” during the crisis.

The pandemic gravely resulted in a loss for the property-casualty bottom line. This is attributed to massive event cancellations and employee compensation claims.

Given the crisis’ impact on jobs, business transactions, and trade, global non-life premiums were flat for the entirety of 2020, including a 1% decline in advanced markets. [1] However, despite these roadblocks, the industry may yet recover to 3% growth in 2021, led by a possible 7% boost in emerging regions.[2]

Non-Life Insurance Are Forecasted to Recover in 2021

At a regional level, total insurance premium growth in advanced regions and China will be more positive than GDP, mostly driven by non-life insurance. This is mainly due to government support under the rural revitalisation strategy and rising risk awareness. The growth pullback in advanced markets will be less, but we anticipate the largest annual contraction of close to 1% in premium volumes terms throughout this year.

INTERESTING LEARNING: While it was assumed the pandemic might boost consumer awareness about the value of life and health insurance, a J.D. Power study discovered that was not the case. Despite the fatalities in the US with over 300,000 deaths, consumers did not seem any more motivated to get life insurance. This behaviour was due to a combination of scarce client communications and a continuing perception of high-cost and transaction complexity. [3]

Product developments will likely shake-up traditional offers. This is an opportunity for insurers to innovate based on emerging trends and needs.

New types of covers such as the launch of more parametric policies or “index-based insurance” (which pays out on the occurrence of an event rather than having to claim a specific insured property loss). This was observed as the top product development priority among North American and European providers and number three in APAC. The concept, which has already been growing in popularity in property-catastrophe insurance, might have use for future viral outbreaks.

Lloyd’s of London recently introduced a parametric business interruption policy for small- and medium-sized firms suffering IT disruptions.

WHAT CAN BE DONE BEYOND 2021?

Insurance providers must take steps to manage three key phases of the COVID-19 crisis

1. Respond
2. Recover
3. Thrive

When the pandemic hit, insurers reacted by taking critical steps to ensure business continuity and help clients and their communities cope. As we all head into 2021, insurers should consider a mix of offense and defense-based actions to hasten long-term recovery efforts and pivot to the thrive phase when growth is most needed.

References:

[1] Swiss Re Institute, “World insurance: Riding out the 2020 pandemic storm,” Sigma No. 4/2020, July 2020.

[2] https://www.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/financial-services/financial-services-industry-outlooks/insurance-industry-outlook.html

[3] BusinessWire, “Life insurance customer satisfaction flatlines despite pandemic fears, J.D. Power finds,” accessed November 4, 2020.