Insurers Face Double Whammy From Coronavirus Crisis

Having initially brushed off the potential impact from coronavirus-linked claims, global insurers are waking up to the prospect of a double whammy - a sharp rise in payouts at a time of big investment losses.

Because epidemics are excluded from many business insurance policies, the early prognosis was for a low levels of claims. But as recession threatens the global economy along with rising insolvencies, all sorts of companies with trade credit insurance, from airlines to retailers are coming under strain.

Meanwhile, insurers’ investments are coming under pressure.

They manage more than $20 trillion in assets globally but their big government bond holdings are becoming problematic as the threat of recession grows and central banks’ interest rate cuts have sent yields plunging.