Zurich has launched a supply chain insurance product in Singapore and Hong Kong which provides risk assessment services and protect businesses against the risks associated with supply chain management disruptions, delays or failures. The service is available immediately to customers based in the two markets, which Zurich said have shown significant interest in such cover. It has been offered to Zurich’s Europe and North American clients for over six years.
The roles of actuaries and ERM are growing in fields beyond insurance, including being increasingly involved in areas such as government projects. This was one of the key points highlighted at the Singapore Actuarial Society’s (SAS) recent 3rd ERM Conference.
Catastrophe modelling company JBA Risk Management has opened its company in Singapore, which serves as its Asia Pacific hub. The Singapore office will work closely with existing offices in Cambodia and Australia.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has launched the life insurance sector’s first-ever industry-led consumer Code of Practice. The Code is mandatory for FSC members who must be fully compliant by 1 July 2017.
A tussle has erupted over the insurance of public-sector projects because contractors of such projects want to insure them with only foreign or local private-sector insurers, a move which would breach the insurance law.
Thailand’s second-largest insurer Dhipaya Insurance is looking to enter the Cambodian market by next year.
Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings (QFH) and Shenzhen Investment Holdings (SIHC) are acquiring 100% of Singapore-based ACR Capital Holdings, which is the parent company of Asia Capital Re.
Mr Chan Kin-por, who represents Hong Kong’s insurance sector in the Legislative Council, has said that Munich Re’s restructuring of its Asic Pacific P&C business shows that the Hong Kong government needs to do more to lure international reinsurers to stay in the territory.
General insurance companies in India are unlikely to make underwriting profits for at least two more years, according to state-owned National Insurance Company’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr K Sanath Kumar.
Mrs Alice G Vaidyan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of India’s national reinsurer, GIC Re, has been conferred the Business Today “Most Powerful Women in Indian Business” Award 2016 by Union Minister for Textiles, Mrs Smriti Zubin Irani, in a glittering ceremony held in Mumbai in September.
Japan’s third largest P&C insurer, Sompo Holdings, has announced that it would buy Bermuda-based property and casualty insurance provider Endurance Specialty Holdings, which has a strong US presence, for US$6.3 billion.
South Korea’s insurance industry is expected to face slower premium growth next year, mainly due to low interest rate trends, slow economic growth and ageing society, according to a report by the Korea Insurance Research Institute.
Several Lloyd’s Syndicate representatives from Lloyd’s in Singapore shared their insights with the Malaysia insurance industry.
The Malaysian government is recommending that employers purchase a separate insurance policy for their female staff, in a bid to lighten the financial burden that might be faced by some female workers or their family members in the event they contract illnesses like breast cancer.
The Myanmar government is planning to open the country’s fledgling insurance industry to foreign companies next year as well as loosen restrictions for local players.
Just three in 10 respondents in an insurance satisfaction survey by Consumer New Zealand say that they feel that their health and life insurance cover is good value for money.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has advised the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), which oversees the insurance industry, to replace the current insurance ordinance with a new version because of the magnitude and importance of proposed amendments to the regulatory framework.
The Health Insurance Task Force (HITF) has recommended that insurers consider instituting preferred healthcare provider panels among several proposals to curb rising medical claims costs.
Credit-insurance broker AU Group and PhillipCapital have announced a new joint venture in Asia and the opening of its first subsidiary in Singapore.
The Insurance Board of Sri Lanka has issued guidelines for insurers and brokers on complaints handling, so as to ensure the timely and fair handling of grouses.
Taiwan Index Plus Corp, a 100% subsidiary of the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), aims to boost the trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including among insurers.
The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) and the Thai Bankers’ Association have issued bancassurance guidelines in response to numerous complaints from customers.
Global
Weak economic growth and historically low negative rates reinforce a trend towards greater risk appetite for insurers despite geopolitical uncertainty, a BlackRock-commissioned study has found.
Insurance Europe and the European social partners in the Insurance Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (ISSDC) have signed a joint declaration on the social effects of digitalisation.
Pool Re, the state-backed UK reinsurer that covers terrorism related commercial property losses, has launched the International Forum of Terrorism Risk Reinsurance Pools (IFTRIP). The initiative is aimed at fostering closer ties and allowing for greater collaboration between the world’s terrorism reinsurance entities.
Cobalt Insurance Holdings Ltd and Capita Managing Agency Ltd have taken a significant step in the launch of Lloyd’s first fully Shariah compliant syndicate after receiving “in principle” approval from Lloyd’s Franchise Board.
MetLife, Inc has launched its new global brand platform under the tagline “MetLife. Navigating life together.”
Corporate Risk Management
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Lloyd’s Register Foundation have launched an institute which will spearhead transformative research on the scientific understanding of risk and its practical application through a multi-disciplinary approach that brings together science, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.
Product Bytes
Events Page
On 13-14 October 2016, in the city of Bandung, The Association Of Indonesian Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers (APPARINDO) held the General Meeting for its members.
Top leaders of the Philippine non-life insurance industry gathered recently to discuss the hottest issues affecting them during the 2016 PIRA Regional Dialogue with the theme “One World, One Future” at the New World Hotel in Makati City, Philippines.