Nan Shan Life Insurance, the third biggest life insurer in Taiwan, suffered from a negative spread between investment yields and cost of liability over the past few years, driven by the high burden from saving-type policies it had sold in the past with high guarantee rates, says Fitch Ratings.
One key question in Taiwan's life insurance sector is whether investment projects that can generate stable cash flows and that are suitable for life insurers, can be offered up quickly, according to Dr Peng Jin-lung, the chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
More than half (55%) of Taiwanese people believe that when unforeseen events occur in life - including unemployment, death, or being unable to work due to health reasons - their existing insurance is not sufficient for them to maintain their living standards, according to the findings of a survey by BNP Paribas Cardif.
Cathay Life Insurance maintained its status as the flagship subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holdings as it reported an after-tax net profit for the single month of June of NT$8.94bn ($272m), and a cumulative after-tax profit of NT$48.26bn for the first half of the year, according to corporate announcements made by the group.
The Economic Development Committee (EDC) of the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a trillion-dollar national development plan, hoping to guide funds -- in particular, insurance funds invested overseas -- to invest in social housing, water recycling plants, and other strategic projects.
The engineering insurance branch has posted the highest growth rate this year to date, with a rate of increase of 73% in the first five months.
Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has proposed to fund new cancer medicines by imposing a surcharge on alcohol.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has reservations about a proposed amendment to the insurance law, submitted by a lawmaker, to slash the overseas investment ceiling of the insurance industry from the current 45% to 25%. The draft amendment does not provide for a transitional period in which the change would be effected.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will introduce an additional phase of localisation and transitional measures in the adoption process of TW-ICS (Insurance Capital Standard), to facilitate insurers' smooth integration of the TW-ICS that is to be implemented with effect from 2026.
In recent years, the global reinsurance market has been influenced by changes in climate-related risks, rising catastrophic losses and economic uncertainties. The market continues to lean towards a hard market stance, and Taiwan is no exception. Reinsurers see opportunities arising from rate increases and improvements in terms and conditions in this hard market. Additionally, after P&C insurers paid over TWD270bn ($8.3bn) due to COVID-19, the demand for reinsurance increased as insurance companies aimed to protect capital from volatile underwriting result. According to statistics from Taiwan Insurance Institute, gross written premiums grew by 10.6% in 2023. Meanwhile, reinsurance premiums ceded grew by 20.8%, with the majority of the increase in fire insurance. The improved reinsurance conditions in recent years may attract new market participants and increase competition in the Taiwanese reinsurance market.