KBRA Releases Research – Coronavirus (COVID-19): Global Insurance Update

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) releases updated views about COVID-19’s implications for the global insurance sector.

COVID-19 is now officially a pandemic with unprecedented consequences. In this report, KBRA updates our previous views on the implications of the COVID-19 crisis for the life and property and casualty (P&C) insurance subsectors. We also provide a summary of certain topics that have developed since our previous reports and give a brief outlook. KBRA notes that the situation is developing rapidly and what is unthinkable today could become tomorrow’s reality. We will continue to update our views over time.

Insurers’ coronavirus-related disclosures have, for now, been somewhat reassuring given the current extreme circumstances. Still, KBRA believes the COVID-19 crisis is a credit negative for the sector and will be especially challenging for those insurers without adequate risk management programs. Underwriting losses, in particular on the P&C side, could become a material earnings event for certain industrial and commercial line insurers. Carriers in the U.S. could face potential regulatory and legal risks if retroactive legislation to extend coverage to include coronavirus-related losses were to pass. And while there are many credit-negative implications to COVID-19, KBRA believes that many insurers are positioned to manage the crisis, continuing to serve their customers, creditors, and counterparties.

Click here to view the report.

Related Publications

• KBRA Monitors Coronavirus (COVID-19) Credit Impact by Sector
• Insurance: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and P&C: Not a Straightforward Development
• Insurance: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Implications Spread to Life Insurers

About KBRA and KBRA Europe

KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider and is a certified Credit Rating Agency (CRA) with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered with ESMA as a CRA. Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is located at 6-8 College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200324005759/en/