Insurer Tryg sees wave of travel claims on cancelled summer holidays
COPENHAGEN, April 21 – Danish insurer Tryg expects to be hit by a wave of travel insurance claims as customers cancel their summer holidays due to travel restrictions imposed to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Tuesday.
Denmark’s biggest insurance company said it suffered a 40 million Danish crown ($5.8 million) hit from the virus outbreak in the first quarter of the year, as a spike in travel insurance claims in the Nordic region more than offset the effects of a drop in car accidents and burglaries.
“During the summer season we will probably see a new wave of travel cancellations,” Chief Executive Morten Hübbe told Reuters. He said the size of new claims would depend on guideline from authorities.
Tryg had travel insurance claims from 30,000 customers worth 255 million crowns in the first quarter. To deal with an extra 45,000 customer enquiries, the company has hired 150 new staff, Hübbe said.
Helped by lower claims in other areas, such as motor insurance, Tryg confirmed its forecast for a technical result – a keenly watched measure of its core insurance business – of 3.3 billion crowns this year.
The insurer reported a 980 million crown loss on its investment portfolio, resulting in a loss before tax of 372 million for the quarter, down from a 930 million profit the year before.
($1 = 6.8797 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Mark Potter)
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