Global climate change has been touted as one of the greatest threats to the insurance industry with an inconceivable amount of projected loss. As more companies jump onto the bandwagon of environmental management systems (EMS), the insurance industry is trying to keep up, with regulators lagging in their progress for innovation. Mr Karl Russek, Senior Vice President of Environmental Risk at ACE Overseas General, speaks with our Journalist Min Yong and shares his views on ACE’s appetite for environmental risk solutions within Asia.
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Competing in Singapore’s insurance market is challenging with companies finding new ways to re-engineer their brand image and business offerings. RSA (formerly Royal & Sun Alliance) has re-branded itself and Singapore CEO Nigel Smith reveals to our Journalist Min Yong the business streams the UK conglomerate is targeting.
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As we approach the halfway mark in what has been a busy and successful year for Whittington, Group CEO Anthony Hobrow shares with Asia Insurance Review his views on what has been achieved, and the outlook for the rest of 2008 and beyond.
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In this thought-provoking article, Mr Katsuo Matsushita, General Manager of the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ), asks the pertinent question of whether the industry is keeping pace with the evolution of risk and adequately serving the needs of its clients. Or is this merely a pipe dream?
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Many general insurance companies and life insurers are now considering expanding overseas and Mr Nobuyoshi Chihara, Deputy Commissioner, International Affairs, Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) is extremely encouraging about this.
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Mr Y Takishita, General Secretary, Foreign Non-Life Insurance Association of Japan, traces the progress of foreign companies in Japan and notes that these companies are driving innovation and continuing to grow market share despite the industry being heavily dominated by domestic giants
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Mr Takashi Oka, Head of Reinsurance Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Company Ltd, shares a cedant’s perspective of the rapidly evolving and complex challenges of purchasing reinsurance, particularly with the widening range of alternative risk transfer mechanisms in the market.
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This month in our bumper profile on Japan, we gather insights from experts on the ground, on the changes and challenges affecting the world’s second largest insurance market. Read about how the Financial Services Agency of Japan is encouraging domestic giants to venture overseas while foreign insurers are gaining ground in the domestically dominated market. Also, a cedant shares its perspective on the growing challenges of purchasing reinsurance, particularly with the wider choice of alternative risk instruments. On the life side, a pensions giant, shares how the company is keeping pace with demographic and societal shifts.
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Mr Edward Fenton, Managing Director, & Ms Michelle Sanford, Assistant Vice President, Guy Carpenter, look at the challenges to broking that are unique to the Japanese reinsurance market and note that they particularly stem both from the nature of its primary insurance policies and from the influence of business cultural values.
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The Japanese insurance industry has traditionally been a difficult market to enter from the outside, but one that can potentially be a huge area of opportunity for those who are successful, says Mr Bassem Kabban, CEO of United Insurance Brokers (UIB).
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Asia makes an interesting case when it comes to the diversity of its distribution practices. Some countries may share certain similarities in this area, but differences abound considering the heterogeneity in the realities of Asian markets. Read for a quick tour of the various distribution strategies in 12 different markets in Asia.
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The Bermuda insurance market ended 2007 with a bang – delivering a relatively laudable performance despite a softening global market, thanks to the low catastrophe losses of 2006 and 2007. But existing market conditions are threatening its good fortune in 2008. We highlight reasons why this market will continue to shine.
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The Bermuda Monetary Authority gives insights into the new regulations and the key priorities and challenges of the day, while looking at the impact of the recent problems plaguing the (re)insurance industry.
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The traditional (re)insurance market has proven in many cases to be innovative and has quickly adjusted to new exposures. However, emerging exposures due to climate change and growing megacities will likely stretch the industry to its limits particularly in capacity needs. Ms Marion Camerer, Senior Business Analyst, Origination/Distribution/ILS Investments at Munich Re, looks at how capital market solutions can offer almost inexhaustible capacity either where traditional capacity is short or where the traditional (re)insurance industry is reluctant to provide capacity.
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Asian new markets recorded a spectacular growth of 68% to US$19.8 billion, said Moody’s Investors Service in its special report on “Securitisation in New Markets”. The growth was driven by India which accounted for almost 75% of the issuance, with over 400 transactions but a small average deal size. Malaysian issuance ranked second (11% of the region’s total), with one-third of this issuance being sukuk (Islamic bond) transactions.
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The Jordan Insurance Commission looks at why Jordan, with the presence of the growth of various insurance-reliant businesses such as real estate, construction, oil, energy, hotels and leisure, makes a good regional captive centre for the MENA region.
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The strong magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck Eastern Sichuan Province, China, last month occurred in a mountainous region to the north-west of Chengdu and brought about more than 20 aftershocks larger than magnitude 5.0. According to press reports (at the time of printing), the death toll had soared to more than 60,000 lives. However, there is still significant uncertainty surrounding the final estimates as rescue efforts are still underway and claims have yet to be reported. AIR Worldwide estimated that the insured damage could reach US$1 billion, which will be the largest insured loss in China to date. Here, we look at the impact on the insurance industry.
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In the lead up to the 7th Asian Catastrophe Conference in Ho Chi Minh this month, our technical feature delves into the risks surrounding natural catastrophes in the region. Read as experts share their insights on mitigating the risks and managing claims. There is also a special report on the Sichuan Quake and its impact on the (re)insurance industry in Asia.
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The spate of recent catastrophes around the world has presented the insurance industry with the significant challenge of managing the surge of catastrophe claims accurately and promptly. Mr Mark Sullivan, Head of Claims, Axiom, shares how reinsurers can cope by having an effective catastrophe management plan in place that has been well-tested, is up-to-date, and regularly revised in light of changing exposures.
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It’s a well-known fact that (re)insurers are fighting the war for attracting and retaining the best talent. We ask the management of three leading companies what they regard as the unique factor about working in their company and their corporate strategies to attract the industry’s finest.
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As fire continues to be the leading cause of commercial and industrial property damage worldwide, property insurance and business interruption costs that often follow a major fire can burn a hole in your company’s bottom line. FM Global, explains how automatic sprinkler protection can help to reduce – or, at the very least, mitigate – the cascading effects of fire.
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As part of the series looking at risks faced by Asian companies operating across the world, XL Financial Solutions explains how electronic goods manufacturers can meet the financial guarantees for future recycling costs in compliance with the Directive.
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The drive for contract certainty in (re)insurance contracts in the London market has been broadly regarded as a success. Although there are some reports of difficulties in finalising contracts, it seems around 80% of contracts were “certain” for the 2007 renewal season. Mr David Abbott and Mr James Thomas in the Reinsurance and International Risk team at Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP discuss the issues.
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Climate change is already affecting the global insurance industry with changes seen as being negative, although opportunities also exist. Areas of insurance coverage may be affected in addition to property damage and the potential for third-party liability claims from climate change is less well-understood but has potential to affect the industry. In this extract from the Geneva Papers, Mr Trevor Maynard, Manager of Emerging Risks at Lloyd’s, notes that while society cannot insure its way out of this problem, insurance can help to spread the impacts where possible by pooling the risks.
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In this lead up to the International Insurance Society Seminar in Taipei next month, its President and CEO Patrick W Kenny looks at how the wave of globalisation has swept through the region and changed the way business is carried out.
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The Federal Court of Australia has approved the Scheme of Arrangement to combine the businesses of the MBF Group and the Bupa Australia Group, green lighting a significant change in the Australian health insurance industry.
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Global reinsurers posted solid profits last year, driven by very good underwriting results that benefited from a still favourable though softening rate environment, loss reserve releases and manageable catastrophe losses, said Fitch Ratings in a global review of the 2007 performances of 32 publicly held reinsurers.
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Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity involving Asian financial institutions is at unprecedented levels, with financial services M&A deals up from US$68.5 billion in 2006 to US$105.9 billion in 2007, according to figures released by a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, “Going for Growth in Asia: Navigating the Way”. Life insurance was the busiest sector, with 83% of life insurers surveyed as having completed an M&A deal in the past three years.
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Up to 400,000 Australians may give up their private health insurance and the cost of premiums would rise for remaining members if the Government raises the threshold for the Medicare levy surcharge, according to Australian media reports.
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China plans to set up a body to manage the country’s insurance protection fund, worth more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.43 billion), as early as June. Mr Wei Yingning, Vice Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, is expected to be appointed Chairman of the company, which will support China’s insurers during financial crises.
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China’s largest commercial bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), will soon announce a plan to invest in Taiping Life Insurance and become the first Chinese bank in a pilot programme for banks to invest in insurers.
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The Reserve Bank of India, which is the central bank of India, is giving the green light to urban co-operative banks (UCBs) which have a major presence in second-tier cities, to act as corporate agent for the insurance sector which currently faces a shortage of distribution partners for their products.
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State Bank of India (SBI) and Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) have signed a non-binding agreement to enter into exclusive negotiations to form a general insurance joint venture in India later this year, subject to regulatory approval.
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Germany’s ERGO Insurance Group and India’s HERO Group, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, have come together to form an Indian life insurance company. The new joint-venture company will be named HERO ERGO Life Insurance Company Ltd.
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Extending one’s working life is the preferred option of nearly half of a group of Japanese who were asked to name the best means to support retirement needs, according to a new global survey published by HSBC Insurance.
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Japan Post Bank Company, Ltd, and Japan Post Network Company, Ltd, both subsidiaries of Japan Post Holdings Company, Ltd, have selected ALICO Japan, the Japanese branch of AIG’s US-based American Life Insurance Company (ALICO), as a provider of variable annuity products for their respective customers.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has decided to allow a wider range of part-time workers to join the “kosei nenkin” or employees’ pension insurance scheme.
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Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM)’s Differential Premium Systems Regulations is a major incentive by the national deposit insurer to promote sound risk management practices within its member banks by assessing premiums according to their individual risk profile.
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ACR ReTakaful Holdings, a 40:40:20 joint venture between Dubai Banking Group, Malaysian national investment company Khazanah Nasional, and Singapore-based ACR Capital Holdings (ACR), has been set up in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) with a capital of US$300 million.
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The international insurance market is likely to be little affected by Cyclone Nargis, which ravaged Myanmar last month, according to the US-headquartered modelling firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS).
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The insurance industry has urged the Department of Finance (DOF) to suspend indefinitely a new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ruling that introduces a new set of taxes on the sector. The new BIR circular expands the scope of the 5% premium tax, the scope of documentary stamp taxes (DST), reduces the scope of the minimum corporate income tax (MCIT), introduces taxes on interest income, taxes on notes, bonds and bills, taxes on sale of shares, capital gains taxes on sale of land and buildings, taxes on rentals of property and corporate income tax.
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Since March this year under the new system, FIDReC-NIMA Scheme, non-injury motor accident (NIMA) disputes between consumers and insurance companies have to be first heard by the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd (FIDReC) before court proceedings can be commenced.
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Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) has opened the Zurich Insurance Company Singapore branch to provide a full scope of insurance services to corporate and commercial customers based in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. These services will include energy insurance products for which Zurich's expertise is well-established, as well as trade credit and political risk insurance.
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The life insurance industry recorded a 53% growth in total premium sales for Q1, amounting to S$2.99 billion (US$2.19 billion), compared to Q1 of 2007 following a last-minute surge by consumers to benefit from CPF changes earlier this month. Mr Mark O’Dell, President of the Life Insurance Association (LIA), said this growth momentum is unlikely to be sustained quarter-on-quarter, due to several external factors.
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Moody’s Investors Service envisions a stable outlook for the Korean life insurance industry, reflecting positive expectations for the sector’s fundamental credit conditions over the next 12 to 18 months.
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The insurance committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei would like the incoming Government of President-elect Ma Ying-jeou to resolve issues concerning pension enrolment and minimum guarantee returns.
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Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC has introduced a pioneering Asian flood model that was developed in conjunction with an independent research and consultancy organisation specialising in hydraulic flood modelling software.
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Asian Reinsurance, an intergovernmental organisation under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) formed with the initiative and support of 10 Governments of Asia, recently conducted a seminar on "PML Assessment and Underwriting" with technical collaboration from GIC Re, in Bangkok.
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The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has given the green light for the establishment of the Vietnam Airlines Insurance Company which will have a registered capital of 500 billion dong (US$31.2 million), reports the Vietnam News Agency.
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