An executive at a Bermuda-based reinsurer says the COVID-19 pandemic is having a noticeable effect on the group life insurance markets in some countries.
Florian Boecker, head of life reinsurance at SiriusPoint, talked about the pandemic impact recently, in an announcement about the company's move to open a life and health reinsurance office in Zurich.
The office will sell reinsurance to life and health insurers throughout the world.
SiriusPoint is opening the office because it is seeing growing demand for reinsurance for group life, disability and critical illness business, Boecker said. He gave the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a force changing the market.
The pandemic "has impacted a number of large group life markets, and our clients and brokers are seeing significant scaling back of reinsurance capacity, increased rates and restrictions to covers," Boecker said.
SiriusPoint is in a good position to offer fresh reinsurance capacity at a time when insurers need the capacity, he added.
What It Means
The SiriusPoint announcement suggests that life insurers and reinsurers would prefer to stay as flexible as possible.
They may be happier if you help clients by offering products and services that come with no guarantees, or short-term guarantees, such as Social Security claiming advice, or insurance products with prices that can change every year.
You, meanwhile, can set yourself apart from competitors by knowing how to set clients up with the life and annuity products that still offer long-term price or benefits guarantees.
SiriusPoint
SiriusPoint is a publicly traded company that was formed about a year ago, through a merger of Sirius International Insurance Group and Third Point Reinsurance.
Sirius International was founded in 1945, and Third Point Re came to life in 2011.
