Around 40 of Asia’s best executives or companies in the insurance sector have been shortlisted for the finals of the 21st Asia Insurance Industry Awards (AIIA), which is organised by Asia Insurance Review.
As countries expand health care services for the covered population, they also need to guarantee the same health coverage for their citizens working in foreign countries, as well as for foreign residents, says Mr Eduardo Banzon, principal health specialist of Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, at the Asian Development Bank.
The financial incentive to take out private health insurance is diminishing for thousands of Australians, as rising premiums and bracket creep make it cheaper to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge than to invest in basic health cover.
The Brunei Actuarial Society has been launched, and held its first meet-and-greet session on 13 June.
Health insurance premium growth has slowed in China for the first six months of this year, indicate data from CIRC. Health premiums increased by 10.9% to CNY261.6 billion (US$39.2 billion) in the first half compared to the corresponding half last year.
Startup insurance app CoverGo said it has built up a pool of agents, brokers and financial advisers who are using the app, who in turn deal with over 30 insurance firms.
Reinsurance premiums in India are projected to increase at 11-14% CAGR over the next five fiscal years to hit INR700 billion (US$11 billion) by 31 March 2022, says state-owned GIC Re in its draft red-herring prospectus.
Inadequate market reach is one constraint on the development of microinsurance in Indonesia, given the size of the country and its scattered islands, according to the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
Japanese life insurers have stalled over plans to invest heavily in foreign bonds in the current fiscal year ending March 2018, as yields remain limited while the costs of covering currency exchange risks have grown.
The insured amount per policyholder in South Korea’s life insurance sector rose at the slowest pace last year due mainly to a decline in insurance sales, industry data show.
The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) is spearheading the development of talent in the insurance industry with the aim of building a competent and skilled workforce.
Insurance associations in Malaysia have denied that their members impose administrative charges on private hospitals, and instead called on hospitals to provide greater transparency and disclosure of healthcare fees and costs.
Three life insurance firms obtained operating licences last month from Nepal’s Insurance Board (IB), the insurance sector regulator, taking the total number of life insurance companies in the country to 15.
The Commerce Commission has expressed concern over the proposed merger of Vero and Tower, saying that if it succeeded, it would result in an enduring structural change to home, contents and motor vehicle (HCMV) markets with a shift from three main competitors to two, and that the competitive effects of the merger would play out over a longer timeframe.
The Insurance Commission is urging Grab and Uber operators to secure insurance coverage required of public utility vehicles (PUVs), saying that only about half of them had so far complied with the passenger personal accident insurance programme (PPAIP).
Howden, the retail broking arm of Hyperion Insurance Group, has completed the acquisition of Sterling Knight, a leading specialist broker which is headquartered in Singapore.
Taiwan’s newly appointed Director-General of the Insurance Bureau has said that the insurance regulator has identified seven areas which it will focus on, including supervising insurers by ratings.
Insurers are keen to have higher holdings in their shares by foreign investors so as to improve ratings and expand their market share.
Global
The volume of completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide in the insurance industry continued its downward trend as insurance businesses continue to pursue a range of routes to growth, according to the Clyde & Co Growth Report mid-year update. Activity is down 24% to 170 deals in the first six months of 2017 compared to 186 in the preceding period and significantly down from 1H 2015 result of 225 deals.
Aon Securities reported that catastrophe bond issuance during 2Q 2017 stood at US$6.38 billion across 20 transactions – a new record for quarterly issuance that easily surpassed the previous record of $4.49 billion set in 2Q 2014.
Corporate Risk Management
The four key enablers of technology and data; product innovation; research and development; and an integrated ASEAN market, can be deployed to put Asia in a strong position to address the challenges of effective assessment, management and transfer of disaster risks, said Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, who spoke at the recent 8th Institute of Catastrophe Risk Management (ICRM) Symposium held in Singapore.
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