KARACHI – Link many other sectors of the economy, coronavirus is also hitting the insurance industry with the subsectors of life, group, health, travel, logistics, crop and marine etc. coming under stress, FPCCI said Tuesday.
The uncertainties associated with coronavirus pandemic which is a great challenge which also offers new opportunities for the insurance sector, it said.
Global, as well as the local insurance sector, is unlikely to cushion coronavirus losses running unprecedentedly high, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, Convenor of FPCCI Central Committee on Insurance.
Talking to noted business leader Mian Zahid Hussain, he said that many insurers are not covering communicable-disease to prevent losses.
While most of the insurance industry is nervous, the firms offering health insurance policies may get more business in the long-run, he added.
Events are being cancelled in almost all the countries, Mipim, the world’s largest property fair, has been postponed, the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona was cancelled while there is little hope for the success of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in July 2020, he said.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that Estimates suggest that Japan has already invested over 12 billion dollars in Tokyo Olympics while billions have been spent by sponsors, advertisers, media firms and insurers which will be wasted if the games are postponed.
Tourism and the insurance industry would also face a hefty bill as opposition to the event is mounting across the globe, he said adding that the overall impact on the global sports industry should not be underestimated.
At the occasion, Mian Zahid Hussain said that the central banks in dozens of countries are reducing interest rates and Pakistan should also do the same.
He said that due to slowing economy and lagging consumer spending the global and local SME sector is under threat of bankruptcies if the outbreak continued.
He said that the government should announce new economic measures to support the economy amid the slowdown.
