Anyone else regret giving up smoking?
Grauniad moment
Apologies for the error but yesterday’s email that should have linked to this announcement on PI cover from FCA seems to have instead linked to a Brokers Ireland document. Not entirely sure how that happened but when I find out, rest assured, there will be recriminations. I suspect one of the dogs.
Uxbridge English Phrasebook
With due deference to I am sorry I haven’t a clue.
Language is always evolving and we have noticed a number of phrases now in common parlance that you would never have dreamt of using just five weeks ago.
“Hello, Yeah, not bad. No I have got time. I am just in the queue for the supermarket”.
“Just put the shopping down there. I’ll wash it and put it away in a bit”. (although this could be an individual foible of Mrs C)
“Interesting look. Laziness or have you always been a big fan of Kenny Rogers/Che Guevara/ZZ Top (delete as appropriate)”.
“is that someone’s dog snoring?”
“you’re on mute!”
“do you think that lot over there have driven here for a walk? Look he’s got a rucksack. And a map! Call the police!”
“I didn’t like to say anything but X seems to have a badger living on their head?”
Transcontinental express
Here are a few updates from around Europe that we bring you courtesy of our excellent and valued colleagues at BIPAR (note to BIPAR – we like to acknowledge sources accurately).
The FFA is committed to submitting its proposal to the public authorities before the summer in order to feed their reflections on this subject. A panel of business representatives, members of parliament, lawyers, economists, insurance experts and reinsurers will be questioned on the objectives and dimensions that all these stakeholders expect from such a system.
French insurers will invest up to 150 million euros in the tourism sector. French insurers have made a commitment to the public authorities to set up a €1.5 billion investment programme to support economic recovery, particularly for mid-sized companies, SMEs and the healthcare sector. The FFA decided yesterday to dedicate up to 10% of this investment programme, i.e. €150 million, to the tourism sector.
A framework has been set up by the Dutch insurers’ association (“Verbond van Verzekeraars”) for entrepreneurs who are in need. This is a joint initiative together with BIPAR’s Dutch member association Adfiz and some other partners. The framework applies to non-life business insurance and offers insurers, advisors/brokers and managing agents an overview of possibilities to, for example, adjust insurance coverage, shorten premium term and extend the payment term. In doing so, solutions are explicitly sought that prevent entrepreneurs from having a (premium) debt position. These measures are adjusted on a case-by-case basis. Entrepreneurs have to contact their intermediary or insurer if they want to benefit from this framework. For the time being, the measures apply until 1 July 2020 and the insurers’ association will evaluate the measures monthly to see if changes are needed. The “Verbond” stresses that these are minimum measures and that every insurer is free to go beyond, in the interest of the client and, where needed, in consultation with the intermediary. Separate guidance by the different insurers would have led to uncertainty, according to the “Verbond”. In its press release accompanying the launch, the “Verbond” stresses that insurers are already taking their responsibility, for instance by applying more flexibly when (recent) inspection reports are lacking, or by individually adjusting the cover.
And, yes, all the links are in foreign. Soz.
New world order
Some interesting data on the changes in behaviour since lockdown. Let’s skip over the deaths bit – I think we all get enough of that as it is. What used to be an on average 30 minutes drive now takes 17 minutes – so its no wonder so many people are keen to get back out on the roads. More people than before seem to be on the streets of Harold’s Hill and Brentford which must say something extraordinary about Harold’s Hill and Brentford. And Shoplifting is way down because there are no longer any shops to lift.
On FERMA ground
The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has written to the European Commission to urge it to use lessons from the current Covid-19 pandemic to apply good risk management practices to mitigate future pandemic events. FERMA plans to collect feedback and experience from its member associations to share with the Commission.
FERMA also notes that as pandemic is a systemic risk, the (re)insurance industry cannot by itself provide material amounts of risk transfer. It encourages the Commission to support the development of public-private partnerships, probably at national level, that will be able to provide funding for those affected in future pandemics.
Which you could interpret as risk managers saying that there was not cover in place, and, more than that, that they were aware of that fact. Which would be interesting. Just saying.
I can hear from the garden the sounds of Mrs Croft attempting to drive the spike from a new washing line into the hardened ground of the lawn. This has prompted me to find some very urgent insurance business that I must pursue until dusk at the earliest. Hasta manana