Ukraine

[dartmonkey]

Universalna Insurance Company (“Universalna”) was acquired by the Fairfax group in November 2019 and is one of the leading companies in the Ukrainian insurance market.

Universalna has 32 licenses and offers more than 150 different types of insurance products. Universalna employs more than 300 employees and, in 2019, generated annual gross written premiums equal to UAH 950 million (approximately UAH 23.8075=US$1).

 

I haven’t seen any discussion about how Fairfax might be affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I guess there are two questions : first, the impact on Universalna’s operations per se. $40m in premiums is less than 0.2% of Fairfax’s $28b in gross premiums written last year, so this seems like it is unlikely to move the needle, but it’s hard for me to believe I would be bothering with insurance if I were living in Ukraine right now (although I could be wrong.)

 

 

And second, whether any of the life and property destruction is covered by the company. Does anyone have any knowledge of this? Were these questions addressed at the general meeting?

 

TIA

[StubbleJumper]

Most insurance policies do not provide indemnities for damages triggered by war.  But, I do wonder what impact this might have on Net Written during 2022 and 2023.  If you are a Ukranian property owner, do you bother taking out an insurance policy?  ISTM that the biggest risk is rockets raining down from the sky, so normal floods, fires and wind seem pretty minimal in the context of the current situation.

 

 

SJ