KBRA Releases Research – COVID-19: Implications Spread to Life Insurers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) releases a report on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its potential implications for life insurers.

COVID-19 has moved from an outbreak in which health care professionals are able to track an individual’s infection back to the origin of the transmission, to one in which transmission lines cannot always be traced (i.e., community spread). Analogously, coronavirus-related implications are spreading in various directions, raising a host of differing (and uncertain) implications for life insurers. Observers wonder whether the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity will result in a V-shaped recovery (sharp decline followed by a fast recovery) or a U-shaped recovery (a gradual recovery over a reasonable period of time)—or something even more serious and more prolonged. In the face of this uncertainty, stocks plunged for several days before moving higher on March 2 and interest rates have fallen. And while moves in the interest rate, bond, and stock markets all have implications for life insurers, so does the general backdrop of economic growth.

The only certainty at this point is that the coronavirus story is still developing, along with the unknowns about the extent of its global reach, the seriousness of its impact, and its duration. As the coronavirus story develops, so will the related credit implications for life insurers.

To access the full report, click here.

Related Publications: (available at www.kbra.com)

• January 2020 Reinsurance Renewals: Cyclicality and Catastrophes
• U.S. Title Insurance 2020 Outlook: The New Normal…For Now
• Quarterly (Re)Insurance Insights

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About KBRA and KBRA Europe

KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider, and is a certified Credit Rating Agency (CRA) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered with ESMA as a CRA.