The Promise- Insurance Story with Safali

  More money matters During the 1960s, countries increasingly held more US dollars than the US could back with its gold reserves.   In 1971, Richard Nixon took the US currency off the gold standard and initiated the demise of the Bretton Woods system, which had supported the stability of global currencies.   Capital markets were quick to adapt to the new risks posed by fluctuating exchange rates and inflation.   Over-the-counter derivatives were used to hedge against such risks and even reinsurance futures were suggested as early as 1973.   The oil crises of 1973 and 1979 upset the international markets further and gave rise to neo-liberal politics.   The ensuing deregulation of the markets was to change the insurance landscape once again.   Markets and companies not prepared to change were slowly overwhelmed by foreign investment and eventually taken over.   Even the London market was forced to wake up when US management styles were int...

Money matters World War I was not insured, but its effects were deeply felt by the industry.   This was not only through the enormous human tragedy the conflict had wrought.   There was also a change in world and monetary politics. Free trade came to a halt and currencies began showing volatile moves.   International insurers found themselves having to find ways to hedge against currency losses.   Life insurers, especially in inflation-ridden countries such as Germany, were forced to recalculate their premiums.   Insurance again became a national affair and almost all of the major exporters of insurance, among them Germany and the US, retreated from the global stage as trading with enemy states was ended.   Only reinsurers were able to maintain their international presence and thereby helped to spread risks geographically.   Yet, they too saw entire markets disappear with the revolutions in Russia and Mexico.   Russia gradually shu...