Lloyd's of London says coronavirus claims could hit $6.5 billion

The coronavirus bill for insurers continues to mount with Lloyd’s of London saying it expects to pay out up to £5 billion ($6.5 billion) in claims. The world’s largest insurance market announced a pre-tax loss of £400 million for the first half of the year after reinsurance provisions helped cover some £2.4 billion of losses from Covid claims.

The firm posted a 2.3 billion profit for the same period last year. “The first half of 2020 has been an exceptionally challenging period,” Chief Executive Officer John Neal said in a statement Thursday.

“The pandemic has inflicted catastrophic societal