EBRD and Aon launch war risk insurance programme for Ukraine

In order to revive the war risk insurance market in Ukraine, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the international insurance and reinsurance broker Aon announced the start of a specialised programme. As part of this programme, the EBRD will provide guarantees totalling EUR110 million. Source: EBRD

Quote: "The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and leading professional services firm Aon are launching a tailor-made, highly innovative facility to help revitalise the war risk insurance market in Ukraine. A new Bank guarantee, designed to boost the provision of reinsurance capacity to private-sector insurers, will help to address the ongoing challenges posed by the war," the press release explains.

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He stated that the Ukrainian insurance companies INGO, Colonnade, and UNIQA, as well as the international reinsurance company MS Amlin, will be present at the programme. Donors such as France, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Taiwan-Business-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund are listed as supporting the programme.

The EBRD will offer foreign reinsurance companies a guarantee that would cover specific war-related risks insured by Ukrainian insurance companies as part of the new programme of guarantees for the restoration of Ukraine, which has a budget of EUR110 million.

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According to the press release, the initiative uses the insurance industry's tried-and-true procedures and current market infrastructure to give investors the private sector security they require. It should be mentioned that the new programme is the first of its kind and will function as an open platform that will allow different insurance market participants to access the guarantee. MS Amlin, a global specialised reinsurance company, is the bank's first overseas partner to join the programme.

Thanks to it, this UK company will be able to minimise the number of relevant commitments on its balance sheet, allowing it to continue active engagement with Ukrainian insurance companies to provide critical war risk insurance. The programme will initially cover insurance for land freight traffic, vehicle damage, and railway rolling stock. In the future, it may be expanded to include other forms of property, depending on market need.

Given that such policies are typically short-term, the programme is intended to reuse capital to attain aggregate coverage, which will often exceed the guarantee amount depending on the actual number of policies sold and the frequency of insurance claims, according to the EBRD. "Based on this approach, it is estimated that the Bank's guarantee could facilitate insurance cover for up to EUR1 billion worth of goods and vehicles in transit each year, with a significant economic impact," the EBRD predicts. Background: Beginning in November 2024, military risk insurance in Ukraine is available up to UAH 100 million (US£2.5 million).

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