Five insurers from four countries – Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand – have made it to the finals competing to be the Insurance Company of the Year for Agents, at the 2nd Asia Trusted Life Agents and Advisers Awards 2017!
Reinsurers will look to explore fresh opportunities, both from within and outside its traditional landscape at the 14th SIRC, to be held from 31 October to 2 November this year with a star-studded cast of speakers.
Chinese and Japanese insurers dominated the list of the 20 largest insurance companies in Asia Pacific by market capitalisation in the first quarter of this year, splitting 13 spots between them, said S&P Global Market Intelligence.Ping An Insurance (Group) of China came in No 1, retaining the first spot from the 2016 fourth quarter.
Insurance agents and advisers will have to learn how to navigate a more challenging life industry where competition is intense, consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and distribution facilities diversify with smart technology.
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has announced the pilot of its prestigious Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has called the federal Budget announced on 9 May as a “missed opportunity to invest in urgent nation-building mitigation and resilience measures”.
The current CIRC leadership is showing “renewed commitment” to strictly enforcing the principle of risk control, following the removal in April of the agency’s Chairman Xiang Junbo from his post for serious disciplinary violations.
Merger and acquisition activity in the Hong Kong insurance sector is expected to continue over the next two years, given the increasing interest by mainland companies to acquire Hong Kong-based life insurers, said S&P Global Ratings.
The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers has welcomed the signing of the relevant framework agreement by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to conduct equivalence assessment on the insurance solvency regulatory regimes of the Mainland and Hong Kong.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is seeking clarification from the government on several questions related to the regulation of pension products. The move is seen as an attempt to bring all pension products under the purview of a single regulator.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has issued guidelines on administrative sanctions in the insurance sector and freezing of assets of insurance companies, takaful companies, reinsurers and retakaful companies that became effective on 25 April 2017.
Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) is gearing up to offer dollar-denominated trade insurance to Japanese banks and trading houses, to better protect them from foreign exchange swings and thereby boost infrastructure-related exports.
South Korea may have to spend over KRW90 trillion (US$80 billion) annually by 2030 on healthcare for seniors, when baby boomers (born 1955 to 1963) enter their old age, according to data from the National Health Insurance Corporation.
Labuan’s total earned premium for captive insurance business increased by 18.8% to US$252 million in 2016, despite an overall decrease in total gross premium, according to the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) Annual Report. The increase in total earned premium for captive business was due to higher retention for all sectors, the report suggested.
The pre-need sector – nonlife firms that offer services such as pension, education and memorial plans – now enjoys a higher cap on the amount of funds that they can set aside for investments.
Singapore is aiming to have a P&I Club in the medium term and is also working to have its own clause, a senior industry executive has said.
The eligible age for receiving government pensions for workers born after the year of 1957 will be pushed to 61 next year, due to changes in Taiwan’s labour insurance law that will become effective in 2018.
For the first time, the Bao Viet Group has become the leading finance and insurance company in Vietnam, when it posted revenues of US$1 billion last year.
Global
The slew of the mid-May ransomware attacks in over 150 countries revealed the widening scope of corporations’ cyber risk exposures, which is likely to increase demand for related insurance protection, Fitch Ratings said.
The global insurance industry is likely to see slightly increased growth by 2018, according to Munich Re. Overall, the international primary insurance sector will grow by 4.5% per annum (or 3.0% in real terms, ie adjusted for inflation) on average in 2017 and 2018. Whilst premium income is likely to grow only nominally this year, slightly higher real growth of 3.0% is expected for 2018.
A study by Swiss Re has found that society bears the largest portion of the total amount spent on the retirement needs of people aged 65 and over, to supply their income, provide for their health and social care, and cover the inheritance they aim to pass along.
With average premiums increasing by a modest 2-3% annually, auto insurance companies have grown increasingly reliant on great customer service, personalised advice and strong agents to win over their customers, according to global market research firm J.D. Power’s 2017 US Insurance Shopping Study.
Corporate Risk Management
Political event risk has topped the list of insurers’ macroeconomic concerns, according to the 2017 Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s (GSAM) Insurance Asset Management survey, a leap up from its 2016 place near the bottom of the list.
Risk professionals have an opportunity when it comes to understanding and managing rapidly advancing disruptive technology risks, according to the 14th annual Excellence in Risk Management report published jointly by Marsh and RIMS.
Agents and Advisers
Asia’s life insurance industry took a step closer to celebrating its biggest stars of 2017, as Asia Insurance Review and LIMRA announced the finalists of the 2nd Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards.
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