Business intelligence (BI) helps to reduce costs, improve profitability and achieve compliance, yet Asian insurers are not doing enough to tap into its strengths. Messrs Richard Barrett, Director of Enterprise Performance Management Marketing (EMEA), and Tan Hooi Chuan, Director, Financial Services Industry, Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan, of BI software provider Business Objects, explain how it can help insurance companies.
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Indigenous local insurers in Malaysia’s life market are fast disappearing as companies begin to feel the heat from on-going liberalisation measures and are rapidly joining forces with foreign partners. This trend is in line with Bank Negara’s widely publicised goal for the industry to consolidate and strengthen as it gears up for the implementation of risk based capital (RBC) in 2009. In this special market spotlight to coincide with the Pacific Insurance Congress in Kuala Lumpur later this month, we speak to life insurers in the country to find out how they are coping, as they come to grips with challenges of a rapidly liberalising market and greater competition from Takaful.
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Bank Negara has openly expressed its plan to develop Malaysia as an Islamic Finance hub, and has signalled its commitment with the approval of nine takaful licences in the last year. This has resulted in conventional players zealously protecting their turf and growing controversy in the market surrounding a level playing field and cannibalisation of business. We look at how conventional life insurers are coping with the increasing competition.
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Bancassurance in Malaysia is experiencing a hive of activity with two new life bancassurance partnerships taking shape, in the form of the newly launched AXA-AFFIN Life Insurance Berhad (AXA AFFIN Life) and CIMB Aviva Assurance.
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In the raging battle for consumers’ insurance dollar, life insurers in the region are beefing up on distribution, enhancing innovation and competing with each other head-on to be the “preferred life insurer”. So how red-hot is the life insurance business in Asia? We talk to the six regional CEOs of Allianz, AXA, ING, Manulife, New York Life and Prudential, on their plans and strategies and discover varying degrees of success among the companies in the various markets.
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You cannot ignore the growth stories of India and China. Everyone is talking about these two mega markets with their drool-worthy figures of untapped potential and growth rates. Just about every life insurer has been hankering for a licence and joint-venture partner since the markets opened their doors to the foreign world. Here, our Editor, Ms Wendy Koh, looks at the progress which foreign life insurers have made in these two markets – and whether the premise is more rewarding than the reality.
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In this exclusive interview with Mr Alexander Wynaendts, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Operating Officer AEGON NV, our Deputy Editor Irene Yeo finds out more about the Netherlands giant’s plans in Asia and why he thinks 25-30% of new business will come from AEGON’s developing markets, including Asia, in the years ahead.
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With the current boom in the takaful industry, Munich Reinsurance is the latest entrant in this exciting sector and the first foreign reinsurer in Malaysia to cover general and family retakaful business. Mr Tobias Frenz, Deputy General Manager Life Reinsurance at Munich Re Singapore (Southeast Asia & Taiwan) who will be taking over the role of Managing Director, Family Retakaful at the new retakaful brach in Kuala Lumpur, shares with our Journalist Ms Shakun Ashoka Raj plans for the region.
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With the influx of surplus capital available in the market today, the challenge for reinsurers is to offer more than just capacity to their clients. Asia Insurance Review speaks to Mr Frank O’Neill, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Head of Life & Health, Southeast Asia, on how the company is differentiating itself from the competition.
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In this curtain raiser for the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Annual Seminar which takes place this month at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Asia Insurance Review presents this roundtable discussion with regulators from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan about the challenges in their respective countries and what new regulations they have in the pipeline.
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With most Asian economies roaring and fuelling the red-hot stock markets, it is not surprising that the insurance markets in the six countries are also reporting sterling growth and are in the “best of health”. Here’s what the regulators have to say about their respective markets.
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The cost of regulatory compliance is a constant bane for insurers, who have been very vocal on the issue. Most companies said they would prefer to be self-regulated, although this concept itself is ambiguous as both regulators and the industry have not aligned expectations on the form this should take. We asked the six regulators their thoughts on self-regulation and corporate governance.
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With the advent of Solveny II in Europe, some of the Asian markets are looking to adopt this some time in the future. In the meantime, most of the markets here are operating on a risk-based capital regime. We asked the six regulators what the developments are in their respective countries.
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Focusing on market conduct, reviewing financial reforms, fine-tuning existing regulations, raising the profile of the industry, partnering with industry to improve professionalism, and the list goes on. The six regulators have a long list of work cut out for them. Here, they tell us what their main challenges are, their priorities and whether we can expect any new regulations in the pipeline.
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With the insurance business becoming increasingly international, supervisory authorities need to increase cross-border co-operation with each other across countries to meet their own targets says Mr Peter Braumüller, Austrian Director of the Department of Insurance and Pension Supervision, in this article extracted from The Geneva Papers.
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Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, looks at the impact and key changes surrounding the new Singapore Rules that came into effect in July.
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FM Global, shares practical tips on how to minimise fire hazards with flammable liquids which are extremely useful when controlled and destructive when out of control, and point out the realities that can help reduce human error relating to the handling of these liquids.
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Whittington Asia Pacific Pte Ltd explains the benefits of outsourcing backoffice operations and shares how the company has helped several clients achieve greater economies of scale.
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India’s health insurance market is set to take off with further changes with the entry of several new foreign players. Our India Correspondent, Mr Jimmy John, investigates.
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Apollo DKV Insurance Company Ltd, elaborates its decision enter the Indian health market, despite it being a loss-making portfolio for most general insurers.
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As part of the East Asia Insurance Congress (EAIC) Bangkok Declaration, member cities pledged to launch a common “East Asian Insurance Day” in October to enhance the image of the insurance industry within the respective markets. We take a peek into the activities planned in the various cities to mark the inaugural East Asian Insurance Day on 18 October 2007.
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As East Asia marks its first EAIC Day later this month, Mr Kunihisa Kawasaki Deputy Manager, Corporate Planning Department, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Ltd, looks at the prospects of the development of an East Asia Community which encourages greater collaboration and harmonisation among countries, and how it will have a lasting and beneficial impact on the general insurance industry.
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The Monte Carlo Rendezvous saw its annual gathering in the celebrated settings with the big reinsurance boys outlining their stance for the year end renewals. We bring you the key messages from the reinsurers, while Asia is still seen as important despite being a small contributor to the global reinsurance business.
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The Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR) , a 43-year-old institution focused on growing co-operation in insurance and reinsurance in the Asia and African region, is holding its 20th Annual Conference in Marrakech this month with the theme of “Opportunities and Threats in Insurance and Reinsurance in the FAIR Market Countries”. We take a look at what to expect at this year’s gathering.
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The 5th International Professional Meeting of Leaders of the Actuarial Profession and Actuarial Educators in Asia and the Pacific met in Thailand. We bring you a report of the conference that sees a bright future for actuaries who are very much in demand.
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Asia Insurance Review’s 6th Asian Conference on Catastrophe Insurance in Beijing drew more than 130 delegates from all over the region to look at climate change, catastrophe modelling, securitization, reinsurance, and disaster management as well as gain new insights into managing natural and man-made catastrophe losses. We bring you the low down on this very intense session.
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Mr Keith Land, CEO of Kiln Asia Ltd, has spent a third of his career working in Hong Kong. We bring you insights into his passion for the vibrant cosmopolitan city which he considers home, as well as other pastimes he enjoys outside of his busy work schedule.
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Two Asian companies received accolades at The Review’s 14th Worldwide Reinsurance Awards 2007 held in London last month. Asia Capital Re (ACR) was awarded Company Launch of the Year, while the Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) was recognised as Professional Service Provider of the Year.
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The Philippines life insurance market has shown positive growth and numbers in 2006. However, the country’s tax regulation is still a heavy burden for insurers. Mr Reynaldo A de Dios, Risk & Insurance Management Consultant, examines this.
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HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific), Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce have signed a formal agreement to jointly establish a life insurance company in India.
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As part of its developmental activities, Asian Reinsurance Corporation has conducted a seminar on “Principles and Practice of Reinsurance” in Bangkok in September which was attended by 31 participants from nine countries in Asia.
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China will see its first insurance product that offers protection to the insured if he is diagnosed with any of the named eight cancerous diseases within 90 days after a checkup.
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The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has approved Aviva-COFCO Life Insurance Company Ltd, a 50-50 joint venture between UK insurer Aviva PLC and COFCO Ltd, and Taiping Life Insurance Company, a unit of Hong Kong-based China Insurance (Holdings) Company Ltd to launch investment-linked insurance products.
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The international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP has announced the expansion of its Asia practice with the opening of a Hong Kong office.
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New India Assurance Company is working on a health insurance policy to provide cover for as high as Rs25 lakh (US$61,836), five times the standard cover of Rs5 lakh.
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Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company started the new financial year with another major achievement and crossed the mega milestone of four million policies since its start of operations in October 2001.
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The Government should review the rules and technical implementation regulations of health insurance for the poor (ASKESKIN) as there have been indications of fraud, causing the surge of insurance claims, said Prof Dr Hasbullah Thabrani, a public health expert for the University of Indonesia (UI).
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Citibank and PT Prudential Life Assurance have agreed to begin a joint venture to promote Ultimatelink, a unit-link product that enables Citibank customers to make an investment and also obtain insurance protection. Ultimatelink allows customers to modify their insurance coverage as customers can add insurance coverage from 12 riders, in addition to life and accident insurance.
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The extent of disasters always depends on the degree of exposure to particular hazards and vulnerability of those affected.
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By the end of this year, Japanese insurers will have established about 10 business strongholds in China and Southeast Asia and with plans to expand further the next year.
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A number of domestic and foreign life insurers will begin offering variable annuity insurance, with Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company and Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company launching products that guarantee minimum payouts to policyholders before the end of the year
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Foreign life insurers such as Alico Japan, AIG Edison Life Insurance and Zurich Life Insurance are launching savings-type medical and cancer policies in Japan, aiming to cultivate new demand in the rapidly maturing market.
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Due to the favourable economic growth and pending introduction of the critical illness scheme for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members, the life insurance industry is expected to register a growth of 11-15% this year, said Mr Ng Lian Lu, President of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM).
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Hong Leong Assurance Bhd has launched its new Premier Cash product, a participating endowment policy that enables customers to increase life protection along with guaranteed biennial income.
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3i Infotech, a Multimedia Super Corrider-status company has entered into a RM40-million (US$11.4 million) agreement with Syarikat Takaful Malaysia, which will see the IT company implementing the award-winning Integrated Insurance Management System, PREMIA™, in three phases by June 2008 to facilitate the implementation of its risk-based capital (RBC) framework.
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The living conditions of the poor in rural areas of Pakistan were transformed dramatically in the last 15 years by the introduction of social mobilisation brought about by Rural Support Programmes (RSP). The RSPs are non-profit, multifunction organisations that provide a wide variety of services – usually but not always including credit – to the poor in two-thirds of the total districts in Pakistan.
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Generali Pilipinas has introduced the Home Replacement Value Estimator, a new computer-based insurance measurement tool designed to calculate the cost of rebuilding a home in the case of an unexpected loss that may be caused by typhoons, fires or earthquakes.
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Life insurers Aviva and Manulife have announced a new partnership which will see Manulife market to its customers a selection of Aviva’s group and medical insurance plans.
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Whittington, an insurance investment and service business, has completed the first international solvent scheme of arrangement for a Singapore-based insurer.
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The General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) has announced new requirements for employment agencies selling Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) insurance.
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Allianz Insurance Company of Singapore Pte Ltd (AICS) has once again improved gross written premium for the first half-year of 2007.
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BMS Catastrophe (BMS CAT) Corporate Headquarters in the US has announced the official opening of its International Operation in Singapore to provide disaster recovery services in the Asia Pacific.
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NTUC Income has reported phenomenal growth in its life insurance business during its recent launch of revosave, a new savings and investment insurance product. Its CEO Tan Suee Chieh also announced the company’s bold vision to transform the organisation’s culture over the next 500 days and revealed its new-look marketing and advertising campaign which features the theme “revolution” prominently.
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Korean Reinsurance Company is eyeing a 10-20% stake or investing several tens of billion won in primary insurers in China, Vietnam and the Middle East for overseas expansion, said its CEO Park Jong-won.
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Fitch Ratings said it expects the Taiwanese life insurance sector to have manageable exposure to US sub-prime-related assets, based on its surveys of rated companies and analysis of publicly available data.
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Since the incident involving its related companies and in an effort to strengthen its financial structure and establish a solid financial base, improve customer confidence and preserve the interests of its clients, shareholders and employees, Union Insurance has approved to have Mr Tsai Eng Meng, Chairman of the Want Want Group, and his investment team to invest in Union Insurance.
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The Thai Life Assurance Association (TLAA) is willing to allocate 20 billion baht (US$6.3 million) to purchase bonds that are planned to finance the Government’s mega projects.
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Sri Muang Insurance, part of the Japanese insurance giant Millea Group, is confident it will achieve its 16% growth target due to its healthy performance in the first half of this year, said Mr Youichi Tamagaki, President of Sri Muang Insurance Company.
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Southern Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Southern Bank) and financial powerhouses, such as Light House, Nam A Bank and Trieu An Hospital, have agreed to jointly invest VND300 billion (US$18.8 million) to set up Phuong Nam Non-life Insurance Company.
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PARIS RE Holdings Ltd has announced its first-half 2007 net income before intangible amortisation of US$122 million and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) net income of US$80 million.
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Benfield has announced its expansion of its capital markets expertise with the launch of a dedicated division within Benfield Advisory, its specialist corporate finance and advisory business.
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The paperless trading service RI3K has announced that its service with Aon has now been extended to include the specialty and direct divisions as well as treaty reinsurance.
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At the recent Annual Conference of the International Association of Insurance Fraud Agencies (IAIFA), Dr Bassel Hindawi, President of the IAIFA and Director General of the Insurance Commission of Jordan, announced in his opening speech that the Association will be relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, so as to give it a more official and international image and to contribute to increasing its efficiency.
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