Ukraine claims ‘would bankrupt us’, says Howden Group boss
Boss of UK’s largest insurance broker warns industry will go bankrupt if forced to cover costs of claims stemming from Russian invasion of Ukraine
The boss of the UK’s largest insurance broker has warned the industry will go bankrupt if it is forced to cover the cost of claims stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
David Howden, the boss of Howden Group, said the industry was ‘not designed’ to be a ‘backstop’ for the costs of war and that if insurers paid out claims ‘we would all go out of business’.
Warning: ‘War has never been something that insurance has covered’
The comments came as the owners of some 500 commercial aircraft seized by Russia shortly after the outbreak of war prepared to sue several Lloyd’s of London insurers after they refused to pay out about £8bn in claims .
Howden said their decision not to pay was legitimate.
“In the end, war has never been something that insurance should cover,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
He added that there was “not enough capital in the insurance market” to cover the effects of the conflict and that if the policy were expanded, the government would have to bail out bankrupt insurers.