InsurTech funding in 2017 rose 36% from the year before to reach US$2.3 billion, according to the latest data published by Willis Towers Watson.
Mergers should be at least under active consideration by health insurers with low or negative member growth, and which only have small membership bases to begin with, Mr Geoff Summerhayes, APRA Executive Board Member, has said.
Thai Life Insurance, Thailand’s third largest life insurer, is studying the possibility of entering the Cambodian market as well as those of Laos and Myanmar. The studies will be completed this year.
Asia Advisers Network Editor Benjamin Ang and official training partner Performance Breakthrough Coach Jensen Siaw, had the honour of speaking with close to 400 insurance advisers from Manulife Cambodia. They were in the nascent life insurance market to share their industry experience and inspire the advisers to achieve MDRT.
Tighter supervision and continued risk prevention in the Chinese insurance industry are expected to be emphasised at the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the national legislature which will convene on 5 March.
India’s Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the domestic insurance industry is expected to grow to US$280 billion by 2020 from $84.72 billion in 2017 as the country is poised for higher economic growth.
The potential premiums that can be generated from insuring state assets could reach IDR6 trillion (US$420 million) to IDR8 trillion, estimates the General Insurance Association of Indonesia (AAUI).
As a member of the Indonesia Business Working Group under the World Economic Forum, WanaArtha Life hopes to ease the flow of insurance funds into infrastructure projects in the country.
The Chartered Insurance Institute highlighted the opportunity Indonesia’s ‘Insurance Gap’ presents to the insurance profession in Indonesia, if it can build greater capacity and awareness.
Insurance companies in Japan are likely to design more new products targeting age-related afflictions as the population ages further.
The domestic insurance market is expected to continue to play an increasingly important role in large corporate insurance programmes, says Aon in its annual Asia Market Review.
The Macau non-life insurance industry’s ability to withstand 2017’s Typhoon Hato (Hato) shows that despite the market’s small size, it remains a healthy one, helped by strong capitalisation and earning capabilities as well as reinsurance plans, according to an A.M. Best briefing.
The general insurance sector has continued to be resilient in 2017, posting a 0.1% decrease in GWP to MYR17.65 billion (US$4.5 billion) for 2017, helped by positive growth in the second half of the year.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), established in 2017, with a number of significant projects starting to kick off, is expected to generate up to US$600 million in additional insurance premiums in the coming years as China invests billions of dollars in creating new motor, rail, power, and energy infrastructure in the country. This estimate is provided by Aon in its Asia Market Review 2018.
Singapore’s life insurance industry crossed a significant milestone in 2017 with total weighted new business premiums reaching a record S$4,088.2 million (US$3,083 million), says the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore). The figure represents a 24% surge compared to 2016.
Nonlife insurance players are deterred from tapping opportunities in the microinsurance space for a number of reasons, chief among them the high minimum capital requirement, the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) has said.
Singapore-based InsurTech company Axinan is creating products that are easily integrated into online marketplaces and platforms. It is focused on building innovative, high frequency/low premium services for the Internet economy.
The sale of Janashakthi General Insurance last month to global insurer Allianz has set off wide speculation of huge foreign interest in the Sri Lankan market.
The Taiwanese life insurance industry reported record net forex losses of NT$176.1 billion (US$6 billion) for 2017, as the local currency strengthened against the greenback, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
Muang Thai Group, which is a holding company of Muang Thai Life Assurance, has set aside a budget of more than THB1 billion (US$31.6 million) a year from 2018-22 to expand its investments in new operations that relate to digital and insurance businesses, including startup ventures, said Mr Sara Lamsam, Muang Thai Life Assurance’s President and CEO. He is also a director of Muang Thai Group Holding.
The participation of foreign investors in Vietnam’s insurance market will help it to grow in terms of business as well as experience and governance.
Global
The International Insurance Society (IIS) has announced Mr Shuzo Sumi, Chairman of the Board of Tokio Marine Holdings, as the 2018 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate. Mr Sumi will be honoured at the 9 July gala awards dinner taking place at the IIS Global Insurance Forum at the InterContinental Hotel in Berlin, Germany, 8-11 July.
Aon Securities has assisted the World Bank in structuring the largest-ever catastrophe bond covering earthquakes, providing the organisation with US$1.36 billion of capital markets protection.
Corporate Risk Management
The growing complexity and interconnectedness of our global systems can lead to feedback loops, threshold effects and cascading disruptions. Sudden and dramatic breakdowns – future shocks – become more likely, according to the Global Risks Report 2018 published by the World Economic Forum.
The relationship between public capital and private capital, macroeconomic risks and protectionism and data privacy are among the key connected risks trends that corporates need to be aware of in 2018, says a white paper from risk management and services software company Russell Group.
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