Magazine

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Dec 2013

News


Asia: On the trail of Super Typhoon Haiyan

Close to 5,000 people perished, at least 650,000 were displaced from their homes and villages, and about 22,000 went missing after Category 5 super-typhoon Haiyan swept through central Philippines on 8 November with average wind speeds of 315kph.

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Asia: Demand for CAT reinsurance in Asia Pacific at record high this year

Total Asia Pacific catastrophe limit purchased in 2013 increased for the 10th year in a row, but failed to keep pace with strong GDP growth in the region, according to a recent report, Asia Pacific Catastrophe Report 2013 by Guy Carpenter.

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Asia: BRICS nations keen to set up a reinsurance company

The five BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are looking into the possibility of setting up a reinsurance company that would serve their interests in an increasingly hostile commercial environment.

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Asia: No area in Eastern Asia immune from flooding

No region in Eastern Asia is immune to the threat of flooding, said Dr Peter Höppe, head of Munich Re's Geo Risks Research unit. The global reinsurer also said that floods and typhoons are expected to increase in frequency in Eastern Asia.

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Asia: Microinsurance benefitting more than 170 mln Asians

The microinsurance sector in Asia and Oceania has reached 172 million lives and properties covered, representing a 40% annual growth rate between 2010 and 2012, according to research released by the Munich Re Foundation and GIZ. Despite these encouraging achievements, the microinsurance sector today covers less than 5% of the people living in Asia and Oceania.

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Asia retirement gap raises the prospect of future hardship

Agaping savings hole between the expected savings and actual retirement needs of Asian investors points to financial hardship in retirement for many, according to a recent Manulife Investor Sentiment Index.

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Asia: China and India will lead global urbanisation wave

By 2030, the world's urban population will reach five billion, with China and India leading the way in the growth of rapid growth in urbanisation and urban populations in the coming decades, according to Swiss Re's latest sigma study, "Urbanisation in emerging markets: boon and bane for insurers".

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Asian insurers turning to higher yield, less liquid assets

While most insurers recognise that they need to change in order to boost shareholder returns, Asian firms are much more focussed on using a tactical asset allocation framework to boost shareholder returns than their global counterparts.

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SCOR launches Actuarial Prize in Asia Pacific

SCOR has the tradition every year to reward the best academic work in the field of actuarial science with prizes in various European countries, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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Australia: RMIA to put greater focus on education and accreditation

The Risk Management Institute of Australia (RMIA) aims to focus its efforts on education and accreditation for risk professionals, according to its President.

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Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association launched

Insurers in Brunei have formed the Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association (BITA) which was inaugurated in a soft launch on Takaful and Insurance Day on 14 November 2013.

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China: Shanghai FTZ throws down offshore insurance gauntlet

The newly established Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) will be positioned as a testing ground for China's offshore insurance market, and will challenge existing international insurance centres for business, according to the head of the Shanghai bureau of the China Regulatory Insurance Commission (CIRC), Mr Fei Guang.

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India: Government plans to launch universal cover for CATs

Two recent major natural disasters in the country - Cyclone Phailin and flash floods in Uttarakhand - have prompted the Government to consider a universal insurance cover for people and properties affected by such events.

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India: IRDA to set up Insurance Clearing House

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) plans to set up an Insurance Clearing House (ICH) that will ensure timely and effective reconciliation of inter-company reinsurance and coinsurance balances and settlement of these balances.

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Indonesia: Modelling tool quantifies local rioting threat and risk

Insurers and reinsurers will soon be able to fully understand the financial impact and threats that stem from rioting in Indonesia with the launch of Impact Forecasting's riot modelling tool which analyses the threat within the country.

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Malaysia: Concept paper likely to raise family takaful penetration

Bank Negara Malaysia's recently announced concept paper on family takaful and life insurance could be a "catalyst" for greater insurance penetration, said RHB Research.

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Pakistan: Takaful and conventional players agree to windows

Takaful operators in Pakistan have worked out a compromise settlement with conventional insurers in the market, which will allow the latter to run Shariah-compliant insurance business through parallel window operations.

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Singapore: Robust 27% growth for life insurance for first nine months

The life insurance sector in Singapore posted strong results for the first nine months of 2013, hitting S$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) in weighted new business premiums, a 27% increase over the same period in the previous year.

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Taiwan's financial sector to continue pursuing opportunities in China

Most financial service sectors in Taiwan will remain active in pursuing new business opportunities in China over the next two to three years, said Taiwan Ratings' Credit Analyst Eunice Fan.

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