Natural catastrophes in 2021 resulted in a total global economic loss of USD 270 billion and insured losses of USD 111 billion, the fourth highest on sigma records, thus continuing the long-term trend of insured losses increasing by an average of 5-7% annually worldwide, the latest report issued by the Swiss Re Institute reads.

Across ten major countries, face-to-face communications dropped dramatically in 2020 while online and phone communications increased. The shift to digital is likely to last, over half of all respondents to a recent Finaccord expect to buy insurance online more often after 2020.

In their newly published Economic Outlook 2022 report, Allianz Research takes a look at the global economic trends and identifies the main developments for 2022.

Aon plc published its 2021 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight report, which evaluates the increasing frequency and severity of disruptive natural disasters and how their resulting economic losses are protected globally. The report shows 38% of natural peril losses were covered by insurance, an improvement from last year.

Last year was the second-costliest ever for the insurance sector, says Munich Re, quoting overall losses from natural disasters of USD 280 billion in 2021, 43% of which being insured. Many of the weather catastrophes fit in with the expected consequences of climate change.

Climate risks dominate global concerns as the world enters the third year of the pandemic, the Global Risks Report 2022 has found, while the top long-term risks relate to climate, the top shorter-term global concerns include societal divides, livelihood crises and mental health deterioration.

As always, entering the last months of the year we are trying to foresee what is expecting us once the frontier between the years will be crossed. According to the latest AM Best research, "in the year ahead, insurers see plenty of challenges, including cyberrisk, growing catastrophe losses and lingering impacts of COVID-19. But, surprisingly, not all is gloomy."

Amid tougher renewal discussions in Europe, there has been an uptick in the use of existing captives, as owners increasingly seek optimal risk transfer solutions, AM Best's new Market Segment Report found out.

The report looks at the background to this development. It notes that price increases in the (re)insurance market began to appear as early as 2018 in some segments. The market has continued to harden since, with commercial insurers and reinsurers commonly reporting rate-on-rate increases, and a tightening of terms and conditions.

The increased influence of climate change suggests that, in what regards floods, what is considered a 1-in-100-year event (1% chance of occurring at a location in any given year) today may becoming a 1-in-75 or 1-in-50-year event in the future, Aon's recently released "Real-Time Climate Change" report shows.

E+S Ruckversicherung, the Hannover Re subsidiary responsible for the Group's German business, expects higher prices - in some areas markedly so - and improved conditions in property and casualty reinsurance on the German market following the devastating flood damage in the summer.

Global reinsurer Munich Re anticipates to see continued market hardening in Europe to accompany January 2022 renewals, while the major losses and inflation indicate more pricing discipline. "Due to the character of risks like natural catastrophes, COVID-19, and rising cyber-attacks, the role of reinsurance is increasingly transcending risk transfer", as the German reinsurer mentioned in a statement.

As the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-15) approaches, Swiss Re Institute addressed in its 'Biodiversity and the Benefits for Human Health' publication just how valuable time spent in nature can be for physical and mental well-being and, in turn, for reducing health related expenses.

Despite the health crisis capturing everyone's eye for longer than a year, climate change tops now the risk ranking, shows the Future Risks Report released by AXA. In the USA, cyber risk is on the rise and becoming the number one concern, while preparedness for dealing with both risks is till inadequate.

"Overall, inclusive insurance is still a nascent business in the CEET region and is not currently a top priority for most insurance supervisors in the area," is the finding of the REPORT ON THE INCLUSIVE INSURANCE REGULATORY LANDSCAPE IN THE CEET REGION recently published by Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii).

ESG and sustainability have gained huge attention within Russian media and politics in recent months, argues Gepa Jansen, Operational Leader Team Russia & CIS at Swiss Re in the following article. Read her opinion oin the opportunities that ESG brings to the Russian insurance market.

The last report "New Care Models: How insurers can rise to the challenge of older and sicker societies", which is a product of the Health & Ageing work stream of The Geneva Association, co-sponsored by Thomas BUBERL, CEO of AXA, and Michel KHALAF, CEO of MetLife, explores innovations in the planning, purchasing and delivery of health services.

Extreme precipitation in mid-July resulted in the costliest European flooding event on record, and the deadliest in nearly 30 years, reads the Global Catastrophe Recap report released by Aon. Only in Germany, the official death toll listed at 197, while direct damage was anticipated at about USD 20 billion, of which up to USD 6.5 billion insured losses.

Estimated insured losses from natural catastrophes at USD 40 billion are the second highest on record for a first half year since 2011, the Swiss Re Institute said, stressing out that winter storms, intense heatwaves and severe flooding around the globe continue to signal the growing risks from secondary perils, fueled by rapid urban development and climate change.

In the research report named "Why life insurers are embracing partnerships and ecosystems", prepared in partnership with EIS, the leaders shared some tips for how life insurers can benefit from partnerships and ecosystems.

Year 2021 will see an above-trend global premium growth of 3.3%, while for 2022 a 3.9% growth rate may be expected, the latest annual world insurance premium sigma released by the Swiss Re Institute. As such, global premiums may reach USD 6.9 trillion.