Regional cooperation is a strategic necessity
Malaysian Re is at the forefront of regional cooperation across the Asian region. We spoke to Malaysian Re’s Mr Ahmad Noor Azhari Abdul Manaf on the strategic role of regional reinsurers in supporting their local insurance communities.
By Jimmy John
Mr Ahmad Noor Azhari, Abdul Manaf
Regional cooperation has been an important focus of the EAIC and Malaysian Re takes this very seriously. The company believes that regional cooperation is no longer optional for Asia’s reinsurance markets, but is becoming a strategic necessity, as many of the risks faced today extend across national borders.
Malaysian Re President & CEO Ahmad Noor Azhari said that as Malaysia’s largest reinsurer and the largest national reinsurer in ASEAN, his company’s role goes beyond providing capacity. “We also seek to build trust and confidence, strengthen technical capability and support the long-term resilience of the markets we serve,” he said.
At the regional level, Malaysian Re has supported cooperation through initiatives such as renewable energy, industry publications and active participation in the ASEAN Reinsurance Working Group. At the recent ARWG engagement, the company discussed practical areas of cooperation, such as knowledge and data sharing, technical exchanges, and bilateral or reciprocal collaboration.
Considering that Asia is a highly diverse region, and its insurance markets are at different stages of development, Mr Azhari believes that regional cooperation enables them to learn from one another and build on the capabilities that already exist within the region, rather than requiring each market to address increasingly complex risks on its own.
Role of regional reinsurers crucial in building confidence in local markets
Geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions, inflation and changing trade patterns can affect both the availability and cost of insurance and reinsurance capacity. Mr Azhari said that during periods of heightened global uncertainty, regional reinsurers can provide an important source of continuity and stability.
Mr Azhari believes that a healthy market benefits from a diverse mix of strong regional and international reinsurers. “International reinsurers have their expertise and capacity and regional players can complement by providing consistent support, developing local technical capabilities and helping to retain more knowledge, data and risk-management expertise within the region. Ultimately, confidence is built through financial strength, disciplined underwriting and a willingness to support clients throughout the market cycle,” he said.
Addressing the Nat CAT protection gap
Mr Azhari believes that regional reinsurers in Asia can play a meaningful role in addressing the Nat CAT protection gap in the region but this he emphasised cannot be achieved on their own. “The gap is not caused solely by a shortage of reinsurance capacity, but also shaped by affordability, insurance awareness, product availability, distribution, limitations in risk data and modelling, and the ability of markets to identify and quantify catastrophe exposures,” he said.
Regional reinsurers can help by improving catastrophe data and modelling, supporting insurers in managing accumulation risks, developing products suited to local conditions.
“Greater regional cooperation could also support knowledge sharing, risk diversification and, where appropriate, access to alternative forms of capital. Closing the protection gap will require a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors, with regional reinsurers playing an important supporting role,” he said.
EAIC a key regional forum for engaging with stakeholders
On EAIC, Mr Azhari said that it plays an important role in bringing together decision-makers from across the Asian insurance industry to discuss challenges that individual markets cannot address effectively in isolation.
“It is a practical platform for the type of knowledge sharing and regional cooperation that the industry increasingly needs; something that Malaysian Re supports strongly,” he said. Malaysian Re views the event as an opportunity both to contribute and to listen and to share its experience as Malaysia’s national reinsurer while learning from the experience of other markets and industry participants.
Mr Azhari believes that the EAIC also provides a valuable platform for building relationships and trust. “Meaningful regional cooperation often begins with a shared understanding of the issues before developing into practical initiatives, whether through knowledge sharing, data collaboration, technical exchanges or business cooperation,” he said.
As Malaysian Re continues to strengthen its regional presence, the EAIC remains an important forum for engaging with the industry and contributing to a more capable and resilient Asian insurance market.