CMR, or the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, has been mandatory in Europe for international haulage for many decades now. But just how effective is it as a form of carrier liability insurance, and what impact do the gaps in this coverage have on businesses?

The Final Report of the Climate Resilience Dialogue, a special group created by the European Commission in 2021 and co-chaired by DG CLIMA and DG FISMA, laid out recommendations on how to reduce the protection gap caused by climate change.

Around 15 million visitors are expected in Paris between 26 July - 11 August for the Olympic Games, featuring 10,500 athletes from over 200 nations. Billions more will watch the event on TV. German insurer Allianz is the main insurer, with additional coverage provided by many other re/insurers, while security, cyber and climate risks are top reasons for concern.

Mid-year renewals reflected a transitioning reinsurance market meeting demand in a dynamic trading environment, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said. Loss-free property programs generally saw easing of pricing, even as demand increased. While casualty programs were also completed with adequate capacity, pricing and underwriting scrutiny persisted due to a variety of market trends.

The high cost of new drug development is among the emerging themes that will have the greatest negative impact on the sector in the next 3-5 years, 63% of life science companies believe - according to WTW’s Global life science risk report 2024.

Based on responses from more than 1,000 risk and HR professionals nationwide, the People Risk 2024 Report released by Mercer and Marsh, businesses of Marsh McLennan (MMC), revealed that ineffective leadership is viewed as the biggest people risk facing organizations today, followed by improper rewards decision making, and increasing health and benefit costs. Risk managers also identified a lack of cybersecurity knowledge and mismanagement of AI as key people threats in 2024.

The health and pharma sector is set to be hardest hit by the adverse effects of AI over the next decade, according Swiss Re Institute. 'Mobility and transport' and 'energy and utilities' are the other Top 3 industries most at risk of the adverse effects of AI technology over the next decade.

According to the Global Transactional Risks Review and Outlook from WTW, a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, “adaptation” might best describe last year’s global M&A insurance market, with participants facing volatile macroeconomic conditions and prudent capital deployment. The cautious approach to M&A activity is set to continue in 2024.

In Austria, the probability of meeting a drug driver on the road is high. A recent study shows a further increase in drug drivers by at least 23% in the last twelve months. Yet, only around 3% of them were reported as such, an articles published by the Austrian Association of Insurers (VVO) reads.

The Mercer’s 2024 Global Talent Trends Study findings highlight a staggering shifts at work, pointing to a notable divergence between the views of the C-Suite and HR on what will carry business forward in 2024, and a lag in employees’ views on the impact of technology.

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes in 2023 exceeded USD 100 billion for fourth consecutive year with earthquake, driven mainly by the increased frequency of the events, Swiss Re Institute said, estimating that insured losses could double within the next ten years.

Climate change will have a larger impact on economic losses in the future, according to Swiss Re Institute. A new analysis of 36 countries ranks the Philippines and the US as the most economically exposed countries today, where hazard intensification is likely to occur due to climate change.

Increasing digitalization of the insurance business may be hindered by the narrow interpretation that data protection authorities are giving to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the German Insurance Association (GDV) stated in an article published on its own website.

Multi-cancer early detection blood tests offer a future where a single blood test can provide a routine, comprehensive screening for a range of cancers. This type of minimally invasive test would be a revolution in the early detection of cancers and has the potential to improve survival rates and decrease the economic burden of late-stage treatments.

For the fourth consecutive year 2023 saw a global insured loss exceeding USD 100 billion, as compared to a total economic loss surpassing USD 350 billion, confirming once again the ever present protection gap; such losses are becoming the norm, not the exception, the latest Natural Catastrophe Review released by WTW (Willis Towers Watson) shows.

Cyber incidents such as ransomware attacks, data breaches, and IT disruptions are the biggest worry for companies globally in 2024, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer.

As we enter 2024, 2023-2024 GRPS (Global Risks Perception Survey) results highlight a predominantly negative outlook for the world over the next two years (84% respondents are concerned) that is expected to worsen over the next decade (92% are pessimistic), according to the Global Risks Report 2024, developed by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Zurich and Marsh McLennan.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 produced in partnership with Zurich Insurance Group and Marsh McLennan warns of a global risks landscape in which progress in human development is being chipped away slowly, leaving states and individuals vulnerable to new and resurgent risks. Against a backdrop of systemic shifts in global power dynamics, climate, technology and demographics, global risks are stretching the world’s adaptative capacity to its limit.

Top 100 insurance groups accounted for about 61% of the gross premiums written globally in 2022, while the Top 10 groups controlled a little over 17% of the approximate global total GWP of 7,530 USD billion, recent data provided by Insurance more show.

The year 2024 is set to be one of significant political upheaval and economic instability. As countries representing 60% of the global GDP head to the polls, governments, businesses, and households are adopting a widespread 'wait-and-see' attitude that will likely delay critical economic decisions.