The Italian insurer Generali, through its subsidiary GFA Caribbean, has decided to suspend all new subscriptions for business risk in the Antilles. Present for more than 50 years in the Antilles Guyana region, recent social unrest, particularly in Martinique, has led it to review its policy.
The reason is simply accounting. The cost of the latest social unrest linked to the fight against the high cost of living in Martinique amounts to 20 million euros. The same decision was taken in New Caledonia after the riots. The insurer Generali has announced that it is suspending underwriting for business risk in the Antilles. Régis Lemarchand, director in charge of Generali's property and casualty market, who visited Martinique at the beginning of November, spoke to Argus de l'Assurance about the significant losses that the Martinique social conflict has caused.
Suspending does not mean terminating contracts, it means not taking on new ones. We need to have more visibility on the social and security context which is worrying.
Régis Lemarchand, director in charge of the Generali P&C market
70 claims for compensation were recorded for Martinique alone. “Compared to the mainland, this may seem low but when we reduce this amount to the size of the department, it is extremely high. ” he specified. The majority of requests are linked to fire disasters whose consequences are the destruction of buildings, production tools and operating losses, as is often the case with business risks.
We are forced to take a step back and we need a secure environment where there is maintenance of order and social cohesion to pool risks and deal with hazards. We have more difficulty obtaining recourse vis-à-vis the State, when the maintenance of order is lacking. The State must honor the appeals that we present to it without needing to take legal action. This important question applies to the riots in 2023 in mainland France, New Caledonia and Martinique.
The guarantee “riots and popular movements” has long been only a modest option for damage and business interruption insurance contracts. It is today a subject of major concern for the insurance sector.
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