Insurance Market Impacts from War in Ukraine
GrECo addresses insurance market impacts from the war in Ukraine in this article.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops is currently shaking the world. In addition to the upsetting humanitarian consequences for the affected population in Ukraine, this war will also have far-reaching consequences for the entire economy and thus also for the insurance markets.
To ensure operations for Ukrainian clients/risks, GrECo established a crisis team composed of Ukrainian-speaking individuals from other GrECo locations to ensure core operations are guaranteed. The contact details of the crisis team will be sent automatically as soon as Partners or Partner clients contact GrECo colleagues in Ukraine.
To provide Partners and clients with the most up-to-date information possible, GrECo set up a section on its website to report on an ongoing basis the impact of this crisis on employers’ risks in Ukraine and Russia and try to address as many underwriting issues arising from the war as possible.
Exclusion of War
Property and business interruption insurance policies contain provisions that exclude or largely limit coverage due to war events:
“Property and business interruption insurance excludes losses due to the direct or indirect effect of war events of any kind, with or without a declaration of war, including all acts of violence by states; civil unrest, insurrection, rebellion, revolution, civil war, and any military or governmental action associated with the events listed herein. This exclusion primarily affects policyholders who own or operate business premises, warehouses, offices or the like in the war zone and whose insured equipment, buildings, goods, and merchandise are damaged or destroyed by the acts of war.”
War events have always been excluded from all conventional insurance contracts and are insurable only in individual cases and with special coverage. For example, in marine insurance, the risk of war is insurable (exclusively) by sea, or terror covers (so-called political violence covers) are available through special international insurance markets, where the risk of war can also be included after prior detailed examination of the hazard and at a very high cost.
Sanctions
The European Union and the United States have already announced far-reaching sanctions against the Russian Federation. GrECo is currently examining the specific effects on existing insurance contracts and will inform Partners and our joint clients as soon as possible if they are affected. At present, GrECo does not have any current information on whether the announced sanctions are final, so please refer to the website, where current developments will be posted.
This information is provided by GrECo.