global broker war insurance offering

According to Ukraine-Russia war maps, about 20% of Ukraine is a war zone. Eric Andersen (pictured), president of global retailer Aon, said one thing that frustrates Ukrainian businesses is that global insurance companies and investors tend to see the entire country as a war zone – even though about 80% of the country remains peaceful.

“The real problem in Ukraine is that the local insurance market cannot get war coverage,” Andersen said. The New York-based leader was recently in Australia where he spoke with him Insurance Business.

“In fact, the world market left Ukraine during the attack,” he said. So if you are trying to build a building, a house or a school, you cannot get insurance for the building materials or anything that is being built.

However, through an agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), he said Aon now provides war insurance in the peaceful areas of Ukraine for construction projects, educational institutions, small businesses and agriculture.

“Everything is available in the local economy and local brokers are selling it and doing as they should,” said Andersen.

Before the war

Before the war, Andersen claimed that Aon was the largest retailer in the country.

“We had the opportunity to sit down with President Zelensky during the UN General Assembly a few weeks ago,” Andersen said.

He said that the focus of Zelensy is to keep the financial services sector going.

“So that when peace begins there will be a working economy because that is what worries him the most,” said Andersen.

“A new way to pay money”

Andersen said the war insurance is “a brand new way for DFC to generate revenue.”

“We told the DFC that what we really need, rather than doing one job,” he said, “is that if they are comfortable supporting one of the domestic insurers, what you are doing is supporting an insurance company.” as it invests in the local market to gain more risk. “

He said DFC is “special” in how it lends money.

“We got a little lucky in that Fairfax, which is a major Canadian insurance company, had a subsidiary in Ukraine so we partnered with that local insurance company and merged them with DFC,” Andersen said.

He said that together they went through the DFC guidelines, including what dangers they will face and what parts of the country they are in.

“DFC actually did US$50 million in insurance contracts after the balance of the property insurance,” Andersen said. “It was a really good partnership between the public and private sector and they used the money where it was needed.”

He said this also “creates more awareness” among other European countries that are used to making aid donations.

“What they would really like to do is help find ways to build and sustain the economy through local energy, rather than just some kind of airdrop to something,” Andersen said. “We have been talking to a number of them about increasing the program or taking part of the risk themselves, so that when peace breaks out, DFC can get out and the private companies can go back.”

“Unstable” global companies.

In the same interview no IBThe president of Aon said that his meetings with customers showed that many businesses around the world are “dissatisfied” with the big risks they are now facing and are looking to vendors for more help.

“Large companies and mid-sized companies in Australia, Europe, Asia and North America – they seem to be less settled than they have been for a long time,” Andersen said.

He said this general uncertainty is not national and he sees it in customers around the world.

“It doesn't matter where you go around the world, they're all struggling in what they see as a dangerous world and they're looking for advice and they're looking for money and they're trying to figure out what to do,” she said. . “I think there are many who are unstable and looking towards us [brokers] so that they can provide them with better understanding and tools,” said the Aon leader.

From Ukraine to Gaza, how do you see the role of the insurance industry in war-torn countries? Please tell us below