So Sarah from next door can now come round and doesn’t have to stay out in the garden when it starts raining? But what about her dog? And would it be different if we lived in a zoo?
The creeping spectre of intrusive regulation (but we are not part of it)
EIOPA has published a discussion paper on (re)insurance value chain and new business models arising from digitalisation. Which you could describe as the latest example of a regulatory organisation trying to use developing technology as an excuse to stick its nose in where it is not wanted. But that would be to display the sort of undue cynicism that this column could never condone. It is interesting, however, that this is the sort of direction EIOPA is headed in now there are only 27 voices round the table.
We will contribute to the BIPAR response to this document in due course.
Hands off our cherries!
As those of you who have been blessed with visiting our offices (when that was a thing) in mid-July will know, the Croft household rents a cherry tree via the innovatively named company Rent A Cherry Tree. This means that, usually on a Friday in July, I have the day off and we amble over to the Kent/Sussex borders to pick this year’s crop. And, with social distancing being quite easy in a cherry orchard (an angle Chekov didn’t fully explore in my view) we are turning our minds to this year’s sortie. Currently the main variable being, obvs, whether or not the post picking adjournment to the excellent Ferry Inn in Appledore will be a goer. Also, what to do with the vast quantities of excess cherries that we normally palm off on unsuspecting LIIBA staff and their guests. So it will come as little surprise to you that we abhor the attempt of Michel Barnier and his silly little negotiating team to stick their oar into this idyll. It is not now, nor was it ever, for EU to determine whether stout English yeomen should be allowed to pick cherries. This is a desperate attempt to try and deflect from the fact that his talks are collapsing and everybody in EU is going to blame him. Stick to fish, pal.
On further axamination
It was a close run thing. For reasons that I find impossible to fathom, Isabelle BIPAR took mild umbrage at my having made her a global superstar through her starring role in the world’s foremost insurance related daily email series. There was some suggestion of a withdrawal of co-operation. But fortunately sense prevailed and so we bring you the latest installment in the Axa saga. Although she has got a bit full of it and demanded editing rights over what I write next.
In the case involving the Paris restaurant, the wording was ambiguous and there was no exclusionary language. Axa has agreed to settle all claims on this type of policy but may still appeal to get a legal opinion on the responsiveness of the cover – although nobody seems sure whether they are going to or not.
There is a separate case which is referred to as involving Beaujolais restauranteurs (although the one cited is actually in the Rhone). Here there was a clause that limited cover to only the insured premises closing. Axa is arguing that as all businesses are closed it should not pay and that this sets a precedent for all policies where this clause exists.
So hopefully this is now the last of it on this particular subject. If only because I am really beginning to struggle on the Axa related pun front.
Kre-absoultely fascinating
Continuing the tradition of getting mileage out of things I get randomly emailed, the attached is quite an interesting run through such things as international comparisons of virus prevention performance; likelihood of a vaccine working; and related issues. The background being that Jane Kerr (no rhyming slang jokes please) at Kreab justified initially sending me these things because we met at a lunch I know for a fact I swerved. So clearly there is someone who has an interest in opening a subsidiary in Cyprus (for that was the lunch) who has taken to passing themselves off as me. Which is weird, but understandable ambition, obvs.
Also it should be noted that Kreab is Swedish so its thoughts on Covid-19 prevention are likely to be erratic at best.
Can you not just give it a rest?
Lockdown has meant that we have all had the opportunity to spend more time with our families and get to know them better. Which, I am compelled to say, in the large part is a richly rewarding experience but does have the potential to grate a little. So, if you are similarly in the market for some occasional peace and quiet, I offer you this asset for the discussion. It details how interacting with his fiancé cost one man in excess of $500,000. That should be enough ammo for you to be able to suggest that your beloved partner come up for air for long enough for you to finish the Ali documentary that you have been trying to get through for, like, four days now…
All this talk of Beaujolais has left me feeling thirsty…