Daily Market Update

Data breach doesn’t necessarily hit sales… Businesses hit with costs when world leaders are in town… Extreme winter weather risk increasing… Concerned about Halloween zombies? A policy is available…

Insurance News

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Data breach doesn’t necessarily hit sales
Consumers are worried about recent stories of retailers that have been hit by cyber attacks but most will continue to shop at affected stores. That’s the finding of a new survey by Deloitte which shows that while 42 per cent of respondents are concerned about data breaches at large retailers, 56 per cent would still shop there. Those in lower income groups and older consumers are more likely to avoid affected stores. Interestingly though a large number of those polled said that they may change the way they pay for purchases in those stores that have suffered cyber attacks; hinting that they would perhaps prefer to use cash.
 
Businesses hit with costs when world leaders are in town
In the current climate of political unrest and terrorism threats Brisbane is weighing up the potential cost of next month’s G20 conference. Business compensation claims for similar conferences in Toronto four years ago hit US$11 million and not all of the potential losses are insurable. Brisbane has declared a public holiday on the day before the conference and there is a large scale rally planned to march past the summit; both of these are likely to mean loss of business but are uninsurable. The potential for violent protests could also be a big concern for business owners and may be insurable. The threat of terrorism may well be excluded from policies though. Read the full story.
 
Extreme winter weather risk increasing
A complex computer simulation suggests that global warming and the effect it’s having on the Arctic ice caps will result in harsher winters for large parts of the world. Last winter’s polar vortex that caused unusually tough conditions for North America’s east coast is a good example and the study predicts that those kind of incidents will become more common. Europe and northern parts of Asia are likely to have a doubled risk of extreme winter weather the simulation suggests. Read the full story.
 
Concerned about Halloween zombies? A policy is available
An insurer in Tennessee is promoting insurance against the threat of zombies. Technically it’s not a specialist policy but rather the fact that zombies are not listed as exclusions in existing policies. Neither for that matter are witches, goblins or vampires. For Dunn Insurance it has turned into a fun way to engage with clients and produce new leads. Their window poster “ask us about zombie insurance” has prompted additional calls; 20 per cent of them serious; and of course all of these callers are potential customers. 

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