More than half (52%) of financial institutions say they expect to have more gig-based employees over the next three to five years, according to PwC's report, "Productivity 2021 and beyond: Upskilling the workforce of the future to create a competitive advantage in financial services."

Insurers and reinsurers are likely to sharpen climate-risk focus as the US rejoins Paris Agreement. Am Best expects US (re)insurers' engagement with environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to accelerate amid an increasing green focus from the US government.

By Michael Haas, Head Client Management L&H ACEE, Swiss Re

World Cancer Day is marked on 4 February. With COVID-19 dominating the headlines at present, there is a risk that the threat of cancer will fade into the background. The figures speak for themselves in terms of how urgent the issue truly is: The risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 year is 20%, i.e. one in 5 people worldwide develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 10 people die from the disease. Although Europe contains only 9% of the world population it has a 25% share of the global cancer burden (European Journal of Cancer). According to the WHO within the next 20 years, the number of new cancer diagnoses is projected to increase by 56% and the number of deaths to increase even by 63%

A Covid-19 related trio of risks - business interruption, pandemic outbreak and cyber incidents - top the Allianz Risk Barometer 2021, the latest edition of the annual survey of risk management experts by corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. 

Worldwide losses from natural disasters in 2020 came to USD 210 billion, of which some USD 82 billion was insured. Both overall losses and insured losses were significantly higher than in the previous year (2019: USD 166 billion and USD 57 billion respectively).

The insurance sector performs the best at maintaining net trust throughout COVID-19, a new report from KPMG International, "Responding to consumer trends in the new reality" shows. Nevertheless, the industry players need to better understand what is driving their customer and adapt to keep pace with shifting customer demands.

Swiss Re Institute has released its latest "sigma" report, consisting in a global economic and insurance market outlook for 2021-2022. The research branch of the reinsurer mentions a world economy contraction of 4.1% for year 2020 with a recovery to 4.7% global growth in 2021.

The systemic nature of very large losses has increased as a result of globalisation and digitalisation. The greater interconnectedness has also heightened interdependencies. Yet a variety of solutions are conceivable for the three major risks of our time - pandemics, cyber and climate change, Munich Re's analysts said recently.

Mergers and acquisitions will remain an attractive strategy to deliver growth. In the first 1H2020, completed M&A in the global insurance industry held steady with 201 completed deals worldwide, up from 197 in 1H2019, Clyde & Co's 'Insurance Growth Report 2020' mid-year update shows.

The insurance industry is set to overcome this year's COVID-19-induced global economic recession, the latest Swiss Re Institute's sigma says, estimating that total premium volumes in advanced markets (life and non-life) will shrink by 4% this year and return to positive growth of more than 2% in 2021. In the emerging markets, premium growth will remain in positive territory in both years, up 1% in 2020 and 7% in 2021.

Global premium income is expected to shrink by -3.8% in 2020 (life: -4.4%, P&C: -2.9%), three times the pace witnessed during the Global Financial Crisis, the Allianz Global Insurance Report latest edition shows. Compared to the pre-Covid-19 growth trend, the pandemic will shave around EUR 358 billion from the global premium pool (life: EUR 249 billion, P&C: EUR 109 billion)

New risks and trends accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging, but the current crisis shouldn't overshadow the need for the world to transition to a more sustainable economy and a low-carbon future, the new Swiss Re Institute's SONAR report says.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published its April 2020 Risk Dashboard. COVID-19 outbreak created high uncertainty in the insurance market, affecting the other financial industries as well.

Insured losses from disaster events totaled USD 60 billion, while global economic losses reached USD 146 billion, the latest sigma report shows. Population growth, urbanization and economic development have triggered a rise in losses from weather events, masking the impact of climate change in a dynamic risk landscape.

In January 2020, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has published its ninth Allianz Risk Barometer survey, the biggest one yet, including 2,718 respondents from 102 countries and territories.

Global commercial insurance prices increased by 7.8% year-over-year at the end of the third quarter of 2019, according to Marsh's quarterly Global Insurance Market Index

In a recent political risk report for the year 2019, Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Oxford Analytica found that 61% of 41 global corporations believe political risk levels increased in 2019. Disruption of international trade was considered the most significant risk in the majority of regions.

Has the global warming affected all weather phenomena in the world? Is it behind each storm or hurricane? That dispute is irrelevant to insurers. The changing climate does influence the insurance industry. We have to face a bigger exposure, bigger number of people and higher value of the property exposed to damage caused by weather phenomena. We have to educate people how climate risk affects their lives and property.

84% of insurers will increase Fintech partnerships over the next 3-5 years, CARASURANCE researchers have found. Get to know the most fascinating numbers and facts about Fintech, one of the most booming industries of our days in the infographic prepared by CARASURANCE.

European insurers wrote a total amount of EUR 1,311 billion in premiums and paid EUR 1,069 billion in claims and benefits during 2018, shows one of the latest Insurance Europe analysis.