Fitch Ratings expects mortality claims related to the pandemic to decline in 2021 for the world’s five largest life & health reinsurers due to the global rollout of vaccinations, according to a new report released by the agency.

According to Fitch, Hannover Re, Munich Re, Reinsurance Group of America, Scor and Swiss Re have only been moderately affected by heightened mortality losses related to the coronavirus pandemic so far, and managed to remain profitable in 2020,

It says that mortality claims have remained lower than pandemic models imply, due to the very low penetration rate of mortality covers among the older age cohorts globally that have been most affected by the pandemic.

The key exception to this is the US, where life & health reinsurers have suffered the vast majority of reported mortality claims.

Life reinsurers have also benefited from a lower excess mortality in the insured population than the general population and some natural hedge generated by their longevity books of business.

More information on how the five leading life reinsurers are affected by the pandemic can be found in the associated special report, Life Reinsurers Only Moderately Impacted by Coronavirus Pandemic, which is available on www.fitchratings.com or by clicking here.