The Insurance Industry's Challenges And Response To COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been - and still is - an expensive affair for the insurance industry.

The state of affairs in the insurance industry

According to a recent article by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), the outbreak of COVID-19 has cost insurance companies in Norway approximately 1 billion Norwegian kroner in less than a year. For instance, Europeiske Reiseforsikring has had 53.000 travel insurance cases with current losses exceeding 420 million Norwegian kroner. Most of these cases were a result of travel cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Compared to last year, travel insurance related payments of Europeiske Reiseforsikring have increased by 55 %. Another Norwegian insurance company, Fremtind Forsikring, has registered 110 000 cases compared to 86 000 cases last year. While cancellations have increased, losses may to a certain degree be offset by a decrease in other travel insurance claims due to travel restrictions.