QBE Insurance News

Insurers Face Disputes with Their Reinsurers over UK COVID-19 Business Income Claims

Top insurance companies, ordered by Britain’s highest court to pay thousands of small businesses millions of pounds in claims for COVID-19 disruption, are facing a battle with reinsurers over who should foot the bill, industry sources said. Bars, beauty parlors, …

QBE Reports Full-Year 2020 Loss of $1.5 Billion; No Final Dividend Declared

QBE officially announced a $1.5 billion bottom-line net loss for 2020 late last week, confirming a figure the Australia-based insurance group pre-announced in late mid-December. The result represents nearly $1 billion downward swing from a $522 million net profit reported …

UK Supreme Court Rules Businesses Should Be Insured for COVID-19 Claims

Small businesses, from restaurants to nightclubs and wedding planners to beauty parlors, on Friday won the right to insurance payouts after Britain’s highest court ruled many policies should cover losses caused by coronavirus lockdowns. Six of the world’s largest commercial …

Insurers Using Counter-Intuitive Arguments to Escape COVID Liabilities: UK Regulator

Insurers are trying to escape liability for pandemic-related business losses with counter-intuitive arguments that go against the essential purpose of insurance, Britain’s markets watchdog told the UK Supreme Court on Tuesday. A lawyer for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which …

Insurers Tell UK Supreme Court They Cannot Provide Unlimited Cover During Pandemic

Major insurance companies told the UK Supreme Court on Monday that thousands of small companies battered by the coronavirus pandemic were not eligible for business interruption payouts and to suggest differently was “reverse engineering.” On the first day of a …

QBE Appoints Pryce as Interim Group CEO After Regan’s Forced Exit in September

QBE Insurance Group announced that Richard Pryce will assume the role of interim group chief executive officer while the search process for a permanent replacement is underway. The executive changes at QBE became necessary when it was announced in September …

Insurers Drop Appeal Against UK Court Ruling on 3 COVID Business Interruption Policies

Six insurers have decided not to appeal against a London High Court ruling that they were wrong to reject claims from holders of three business interruption insurance policies who have been pushed to the brink of collapse by the COVID-19 …

UK Businesses Wait to See if Their Insurers Will Appeal COVID-19 Insurance Ruling

LONDON — Murray Pulman says he is as tough as they come, but battles with his insurer have left him close to tears after a coronavirus lockdown forced his family-run cafe The Posh Partridge to close. Pulman was counting himself …

QBE Expects H1 2020 Loss of US$750M on COVID-19, Natural Catastrophe Claims

QBE Insurance Group expects to report a first-half, after-tax loss of around $750 million, mainly due to COVID-19 claims and natural catastrophes, which included Australia’s bushfires and hailstorms at the beginning of the year. During the first half, QBE said …

Update: COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims Take Center Stage in London Court Case

UK financial regulators took aim at insurers’ attempts to compare the coronavirus lockdown to government warnings on cigarettes and alcohol, telling a London court that businesses had no choice but to shut down during the pandemic. The clash took place …