Global: Beazley launches event-cancellation insurance for charities
Beazley has launched bespoke event-cancellation insurance for registered charities to protect them against the costs and/or loss of revenue associated with events that they stage. The coverage includes income derived from donations made at events, in recognition of the significant funds that can be raised on such occasions.
As an added benefit, charities also enjoy a 10% discount on Beazley’s standard event-cancellation premium rates. Donations are defined as broadly as possible to ensure that monetary gifts, bequests, contributions or endowments, including monies raised from raffles and auctions, are all included. In order for such donations to be included, a similar event will need to have been held at least once before so as to provide the benchmark for quantifying the level of cover required.
In addition to the cancellation cover, charities can also add cover for their event against the risks of terrorism, non-appearance, communicable disease, theft of money and other property, as well as public and employer’s liability. Insureds can be domiciled in the UK or overseas in Europe, the US, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Singapore: FWD introduces bespoke international health insurance online
FWD has launched a customisable insurance product for residents of Singapore looking for portable health cover. The international health policy applies to the large number of local expats who are looking for health insurance plans no matter where their job takes them, but are unable to tap government-sponsored medical care meant only for citizens and permanent residents. It is also suitable for locals looking for access to world-class medical facilities outside of Singapore.
The policy includes hospitalisation and surgical benefits as the base plan, and is fully customisable to provide consumers with the flexibility to add the coverage they need from optional benefits such as outpatient, maternity, dental and optical. Featuring global mobility protection and trusted medical partners worldwide, it means the insured will also be able to access 24/7 emergency assistance and advice over the telephone. FWD’s emergency assistance will also refer the insured person to a medical practitioner when necessary.
It is also unique in being a borderless health coverage plan that rewards the insured for staying healthy. The product features a unique ‘no claim bonus’, which increases the annual hospitalisation limit by 50% should there be no hospitalisation claims against the policy in the previous year — doubling the coverage after a two-year period.
Singapore: Online broker offers first cryptocurrency storage insurance
Insurance Market, Singapore’s first online broker, has arranged insurance for customers that store crypto currencies with the Safe House, a vault facility owned by Singapore bullion dealer Silver Bullion.
Owners of cryptocurrencies have important ‘private keys’ that act as a password to access their accounts and the balance within. With loss or theft of a private key potentially disastrous, the Safe House has developed a unique safe ‘physical crypto storage’ process that has become a widely recognised standard, known as the Gregersen-Gono standard.
Lloyd’s underwriters, Insurance Market, Silver Bullion and the Safe House have structured the facility to enable clients to safeguard their assets and Lloyd’s insures the stored private keys and the account balances they represent. While insurance for bullion has been in place for years, private keys insurance is a first-of-its-kind in the market which will allow holders of cryptocurrencies a safe way to store the private keys to protect their wealth.
South Korea: Insurance policy covering pre-existing conditions a hit among the elderly
An insurance policy in South Korea that covers those with a current illness, regardless of its gravity, and former patients with previous treatment records has reached about 50,000 subscriptions within a month of its release, according to a the Korea Bizwire news report.
Research by the Financial Service Commission revealed that a total of 49,315 such policies were sold in April alone, by seven insurance companies, namely Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Hanwha Damage Insurance, Heungkuk Fire & Marine, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Meritz, KB Insurance and DB Insurance and NH Property & Casualty Insurance. The latter started selling these policies on 2 May while the others started in April.
A further breakdown revealed that over 1,300 policies were sold per day on average, which is equivalent to 43.6% of the insurance plans usually sold during the same period. Total premiums for this policy covering those with current or previous illness were about KRW2.64bn ($2.47m), while the average was KRW53,578, about KRW18,000 more expensive on average, than regular health insurance plans.
This was because many elderly people made up the policyholders, said FSC director Ha Ju-sik. The largest demographic group was those in their 60s, who made up 40.8% of the subscribers, followed by those in their 50s (37.4%) and 40s (13.5%), reported the Korea Bizwire. A