From Editor-in-Chief
Anna Maria D'Hulster: Geneva Association members gather for annual meet in Singapore
John Tan: Maximising the contribution of insurance to economic growth in Asia
Lloyd's on expansion path
Friends Provident: New regulatory environment will test insurers' customer centricity pledge
Expertise trumps cheap capacity: Marsh COO
AEC focus: AEC can fill regional manpower gaps
AEC focus: A more even playing field needed
Product bites
The Geneva Association focus: Gaining greater traction with govts in Asia
Focus on 3rd SAARC insurance conference: Pushing for regional cooperation among SAARC nations
Legal focus: Coping with enhanced regulation
Claims: Modern claims management improves reputation - and the balance sheet
AIG's broker business outlook survey: Brokers bullish on bountiful ASEAN
Investment: Insurance equity investment under advanced solvency regimes - The end of the game or the only game in town?
Trade credit focus: Credit & Political Risk: Patchy global recovery leaves big room for growth
IRFRC: The effect of credit crunches on insurance purchases
Life focus: Agents of trust
Life focus: Life Insurance and suicide cover
Health insurance: Health 2.0 - Disruptions and innovations
Corporate sponsorship focus: Finding strength in synergy
China: Important steps forward
Motor: Insurers keeping eyes on the road
Motor: The autonomous car and its insurance implications
Women rising to the top: Tips to break that glass ceiling
Bancassurance: The Big Banc theory
Bancassurance: Micro-bancassurance: Profitably social
Bancassurance: DBS-Manulife Deal: Price worth paying?
Is insurance affordable Down Under?
Snapshots of the Australian market - A view from APRA
Premium affordability key issue for Australian industry
Time to review income protection in the Australian market
Disability Insurance: No innovation = No future
Australian declared terrorist incident proves ARPC procedures
The Business Interruption policy response to the Sydney Siege claims
What is on the horizon for the Australian insurance industry?
Achieving cyber resilience
Settlements induced by misrepresentation
Usage-Based Insurance: Launch lessons
Business continuity in the era of the cloud
Acord forum Asia: Emotional appeal key to consumer experience
19th Asian Actuarial Conference: Expanding with sustainability
Risk management: AXA Research Fund to support 44 new risk-related research projects in 2015
Risk management: Southeast Asia CIOs believe current investments in risk management inadequate
Asia: Region has 47% of total global Nat CAT losses in 2014 - Swiss Re
Asia: Employers' benefit spend grows, but value perception lags
Asia accounts for 60% of all piracy incidents - AGCS
China: CIRC to restrict related-party transactions
Australia: Life advice sector urged to work on reforms urgently
Russia seeks Chinese firms to replace Western reinsurers
Hong Kong: Government might give in to insurers in VHIS debate
India: IRDAI issues new draft rules for foreign reinsurers
Japan: Mitsui Sumitomo looks beyond domestic borders for investment yields
Pakistan: Aon partners with Manchester United for affinity product
Korean Re joins Lloyd's
Korea: HIS breaks into top 3 of insurance brokers in 2014
Singapore: Launch of comparison website and no commission policies
Singapore: A.M. Best opens new office space with Asia Pac growth
Singapore: Arthur J. Gallagher launches new reputation risk practice across Asia Pacific
Singapore: AXA to distribute non-life products at post offices
Sri Lanka to host the 10th Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators (AFIR) in July
Taiwan: Discretionary investment policies gaining popularity
World Bank looks to offer (re)insurance options
Lloyd's reports GBP3.2 billion profit for 2014
Germanwings crash adds further pressure on aviation war sector - A.M. Best
XL Group and Cobalt Underwriting launch Shariah-compliant equine product at Lloyd's
Brokerslink restructures in view of new business model
Diary of events
People on the move
COVER STORY
The recent big money bancassurance deals in Asia signals the faith insurers have for bancassurance. We take a look at the lush promises of the way forward for the industry to continue banking on banks.
COUNTRY PROFILE
All's fairly well Down Under with strong financials for both life and general. Big question is affordability of insurance covers, especially for nat-cats. We look at feedback on what can be done to manage these challenges and the key issues in 2015.
SPOTLIGHT
Flying cars have captured the imagination of many for generations, with some predicting they would dominate the skylines of our cities by the eve of the second millennium. That did not happen. Driverless cars, on the other hand, seem to be closer to...
Buy Now
Asia Insurance Review caught up with Lloyd's Chairman John Nelson at its recent official Beijing branch office opening where he says more of such openings around the world can be expected.
Evolving regulatory requirements in Hong Kong and Singapore have forced Friends Provident International to revisit its product offering. Mr James Lai-Hing Tan, its Managing Director in Asia, elaborates. By Gregory Taylor, AIR Correspondent,...
Marsh's Bill Pieroni says insurers with deep expertise will be in a better position to resist the competitive race to the bottom. By Ridwan Abbas
The ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, which is set to come into effect at the end of this year, will enable some of the region's businesses to plug manpower shortfalls, say recruitment experts in Indonesia.
Domestic regulations and an uneven playing field will pose challenges for ASEAN corporates - an issue they will need to overcome if they are to be successful outside their home markets, said Thai energy giant PTT's Chief Operating Officer, Surong...
Mr Eric Gao of Lloyd's Insurance Co (China) Ltd discusses the modernisation of China's solvency regime.
Autonomous driving technology is already upon us. Insurers will have to respond. Mr Alex Smith and Mr Roland Voggenauer-Graf von Bothmer of Swiss Re say how quickly they will have to, depends on a number of factors, of which technology is only one.
The notion that it is more difficult for women - not just in the insurance industry - to attain and retain senior responsibilities was established as a fact by speakers at the recent inaugural workshop on Women in Insurance, organised by the...
Bancassurance is well-positioned to provide microinsurance products in emerging markets. Other than performing a social role, serving the needs of the micro-customer segment can prove profitable, says Mr David Chan, Managing Director, Thistle...
Manulife recently paid a hefty sum to secure bancassurance rights in four key Asian markets; we assess the merits of the deal. By Ridwan Abbas
Australian life insurers turned in a relatively healthy report card for 2014, registering a 23.4% jump in after-tax profits y-o-y although its total revenue dipped 13.5% y-o-y. For general insurers though, total net profit was down 13% in 2014 while...
Insurance affordability, particularly in cyclone and flood risk locations, is a key issue for Australia's insurance industry. It was firmly on the radar for a group of senior executives who spoke to insurance journalist Kate Tilley about the...
Cyber security has become the single most important risk to company boards of directors around the world. In this extract taken from the Geneva Association newsletters, Messrs Garin Pace, Anthony Shapella and Greg Vernaci of AIG, spell out the steps...
Mr Brian Nash and Mr Nicholas Sykes of Clyde & Co Clasis in Singapore consider the English law position in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation made during the course of litigation.
Mr Andrew Dart from CSC explores the essential ingredients to launching a successful Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) motor product.
The cloud era is upon us, with cloud computing offering many benefits but bringing with it new risks such as cloud outages and data loss. How can companies on the cloud protect themselves?
The ACORD Forum Asia provided food for thought on how insurers need to change their messaging to better attract today's customers.
The AXA Research Fund is stepping up its support for fundamental risks research in 2015.
More than 85% of CIOs in Southeast Asia agreed that the digital domain is creating new, different and higher levels of risk, in addition to the considerable opportunities it brings.
Total economic losses from all disaster events in the world were US$110 billion in 2014.
More than four in 10 employers in the region (41%) spend over 20% of payroll on benefits provision, according to Towers Watson's 2015 Asia Pacific Benefit Trends Survey.
Asia now accounts for up to 60% of all piracy incidents in the world with 145 reported cases.
The World Bank has announced that it would significantly expand the range of disaster risk transfer, management and financing options it offers to clients to include insurance and reinsurance coverage.
Lloyd's has announced that it made a pre-tax profit of GBP3.2 billion (US$$4.76 billion) for 2014, driven by a relatively benign year for major natural catastrophes, favourable prior year development, and an improved return investment return.
The March crash of a Germanwings carrier may well put further pressure on the beleaguered aviation war sector, said A.M. Best.