QBE

The Australian carrier probably had little choice but to take a hard line over CEO Pat Regan’s communications misstep

The exit follows an investigation into “workplace communications” reportedly stemming from a complaint within QBE North America.

Accounting for expected H2 cat losses, the $500mn cover is only $20mn away from triggering.

The division reported a positive underlying result excluding the pandemic, with rates up 14.8% in London.

The insurer said the regulator was “reverse engineering” to arrive at the conclusions it wanted in the BI test case.

Euler Hermes, Coface and Atradius are also participating in the scheme, which has had formal approval from the European Commission.

The Australian carrier anticipates a pandemic impact on its underwriting business of $335mn, plus bushfire and hailstorm losses.

Insurers involved in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s test case for BI disputes have contested the regulator’s assertion that the Covid-19 outbreak was the proximate cause of insureds’ losses.

Bushfire losses make up just over 40 percent of the total claims bill.

An affiliate of e-commerce company Paytm will pay $76mn for the whole of Raheja QBE.

In robust arguments carriers dispute the causation of losses and the nature of specific wordings.

The action opens up a new front in the war between disgruntled BI policy holders and carriers.