Healthcare spending in Asia and Australasia is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% to top US$1.96 trillion by 2020, up from $1.54 trillion in 2015. Globally, this spending is expected to reach $8.7 trillion by 2020, from $7 trillion in 2015, according to Deloitte’s 2018 Global Health Care Outlook.
A recent social media survey conducted by Economical Insurance found that 85% of brokerages think an engaging social media presence gives a competitive advantage over those that do not use the medium. 79.5% of respondents said they use social media primarily to generate new leads and sales.
Legislative action and changes to motor insurance are needed in order to accommodate a “high level” of automation on Australian roads in the next five years, according to a report “Transforming Mobility”, a joint initiative from NRMA, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and transport company Keolis Downer.
The World Bank has painted a brighter picture for Bangladesh’s economy for the next two fiscal years, on the back of strong domestic demand, exports, investments and remittances.
A new government policy that went into effect at the start of the year could prevent some businesses from providing private health insurance plans for employees.
China’s largest insurance group, Ping An, has entered the country’s emerging rental housing market through a strategic cooperation agreement with Landsea Green Properties, according to a stock exchange filing by the real estate group.
Bigger tax breaks are proposed for young Hongkongers to induce them to join a government-backed voluntary medical insurance scheme, reported the South China Morning Post.
The government is looking into creating a unified financial regulator for India’s only international financial service centre, Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City, after individual regulators indicated that they have no objection to the idea, according to GIFT Managing Director Ajay Pandey.
The increase in the number of actuaries has failed to keep pace with the growth of the insurance industry in Indonesia, according to the Chairman of the Society of Actuaries of Indonesia (Persatuan Aktuaris Indonesia, PAI), Mr Rianto Ahmadi Djojosugito.
Insurers are offering lower premiums on an increasing number of new auto insurance products, in cases where the driver meets certain safety criteria.
Malaysia’s takaful growth continues to outpace that of the conventional insurance sector, driven by stable domestic consumption and government efforts to reach out to the mass-market, says Fitch Ratings.
All eyes are watching Myanmar closely for 2018, the year to usher in the new wave of transformation for the emerging insurance industry as it stands on the cusp of liberalisation.
The financial regulator should allow insurers, pension funds and provident funds to invest in private equity funds, said speakers at a workshop organised by USAID in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in December 2017.
Insular Life, the first and largest Filipino life insurer, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) have entered into a partnership to educate and offer risk-mitigating solutions for women in the Philippines.
The Ministry of Health could set up a fund to better support children with rare diseases, to help their families bear the high cost of medical treatment of rare conditions.
Commercial property transactions in Taiwan rose only slightly in 2017, as a fall in investment by life insurers affected growth, says property management firm Savills.
The insurance market needs to focus on two goals this year, which are to maintain a stable and sustainable growth rate, attracting more investors, and to enhance the role of insurance in the economy, according to Mr Phung Ngoc Khanh, Director of the Finance Ministry’s Department of the Insurance Supervisory Authority.
Global
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) and RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd (RenaissanceRe), have announced the launch of Langhorne Re, a global reinsurer targeting large in-force life and annuity blocks.
Qatar Reinsurance Company Limited (Qatar Re) said it has been authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority to carry out certain regulated activities in the UK from its branch office in London. Mr Michael van der Straaten will lead the branch, in addition to his current role as the company’s Chief Underwriting Officer for Long Tail and Specialty Classes.
Natural catastrophe events caused economic losses of approximately US$320 billion globally last year, of which $128 billion were insured. This is according to estimates by Aon Benfield in its latest Reinsurance Market Outlook report – thus marking 2017 as the third-costliest year after losses in 2011 and 2005.
Corporate Risk Management
Business interruption (#1 with 42% of responses; #1 in 2017) and cyber incidents (#2 with 38% of responses; #4 in 2017) emerged as the top two risk concerns among corporates in Asia, mirroring the response of businesses globally, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2018.
As cyber attacks grow in volume and scale, companies will be compelled to address cybersecurity risk holistically by integrating it more aggressively into their enterprise risk management (ERM), said Aon’s latest 2018 Cybersecurity Predictions report.
The Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc (RIMS) has appointed Mr Robert Cartwright Jr, an executive at leading tyre company Bridgestone, as its president for the 2018 term.
The London-headquartered Institute of Risk Management has appointed its first “ambassadors” in India, as it seeks to expand its international footprint into Asia. It comes on the back of the organisation’s inaugural visit to China last month.
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