Daily Market Update - April 17, 2015

Insurers call for financial services to be included in trade partnership… Rebrand for Marsh software business… Insurer offers advice for safe business travel… Browser screenshot app could leave your data exposed…

Risk Management News

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Insurers call for financial services to be included in trade partnership
Insurers on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for financial services to be fully included in the new Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The agreement provides a huge opportunity for businesses in the US and EU but as the 9th round of negotiations approaches the American Insurance Association, the American Council of Life Insurers and Insurance Europe are calling for the partnership to go further, for both trade and regulatory reasons.
In a joint statement the insurers’ bodies say: “It is essential for financial services trade issues and regulatory cooperation to be part of any final outcome. This is because TTIP represents not only a unique opportunity to grow our bilateral trade relationship and set the bar for future trade agreements, but also to support regulatory cooperation.”
The associations say that bilateral insurance trade and investment already exceeds $185 billion a year and making the relationship even stronger could open potential markets for US and EU insurers and ensure a healthy global insurance industry.
 
Rebrand for Marsh software business
The risk and claims software business of global insurer Marsh is being rebranded. The STARS business unit is changing its name to March ClearSight. The company says as part of the change it will further integrate Marsh’s data and analytics resources and will broaden its scope into dynamic risk management with real time data. The updated software will be optimized for mobile devices in step with modern working requirements.
 
Insurer offers advice for safe business travel
Global insurance firm ACE has issued some guidelines to help businesses and their employees avoid some of the risks of business travel. It highlights a range of issues and offers scenarios and ways to mitigate the dangers. The guide includes situations such as a theft while staying in a hotel, airport lockdown and natural disasters. The tip sheet is available at AceGroup.com
 
Browser screenshot app could leave your data exposed
A widely used app that allows users to take a screenshot of their Google Chrome browser could lead to a data breach. That’s according to cybersecurity firm ScrapeSentry which says the free app, downloaded by over a million users, has a hidden element that could put users at risk. The Webpage Screenshot app is freely available in the official Chrome app store but ScrapeSentry says it sends details of screenshots to a US server without users’ knowledge. That could mean that a web URL or personal data in the browser view could be stored. Although there is no suggestion that this data is being used for maliciously the firm is urging Google to look into the issue urgently. 
 

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