From Editor-in-chief
Munich Re: Rising exposures need a sustainable approach
Berry, Palmer & Lyle: A large fish in PRI pond
Risk-adequate pricing is key in countering headwinds
Asia’s Giants – China & India: Giants of Asia, giants of the world?
Asia’s Giants – China & India: All about agents
Long-Term Care Feature - Private/public partnership approach to long-term care needs
Effective Customer Care - Achieving optimised customer service for cross-channel profitability
Marketing Focus - Data-driven insurance marketing is a journey, not a destination
Financial Communication Feature - Insurers’ and reinsurers’ market capitalisation undervaluation- Hard lessons from Europe
Myanmar - Still early days in the land of golden pagodas
Legal Spotlight on China - The requirements for foreign enterprises to obtain insurance broker/agency licence in China
Lloyd’s vision for Asia
A Lloyd’s opportunity for Asia?
Pensions: Seeking sustainability
Pension: Asia and Oceania – Diverse pension landscape
Pension: How best to prepare for Employee Choice Arrangement
The Geneva Association - Need for consumer education on risk management and insurance
More flexibility for insurance funds utilisation
Backbone or Achilles’ heel?
IAIS – Making a real impact with its activities and actions
IAIS and its impact on Asian regulators
Be prepared, seize the day
Bancassurance Focus - Asia’s banks and insurers seek innovation in partnerships
CAT Conference – Long-term relationships for times of stress
Microinsurance needs to have a price
East Asian Insurance Day: Sharing best practices
Asia: 2011 CAT losses still burdening Asia-Pacific reinsurers – S&P
China Re controls 6% of global reinsurance business
China: Willis, Guy Carpenter open new offices in China
China: Great Eastern sells 25% stake in its China’s JV
Hong Kong: HKFI launches new app as information gateway
India: Public sector insurers told not to charge low fire premiums
India: IRDA considering more tax perks for life policies
Indonesia: Life insurers need more time for new accounting standards
Japan: New SMR regime may impact insurers’ ratings – Fitch
Philippines: Fewer insurers licensed due to higher capital requirements
Singapore: Life after Financial Advisory Industry Review – What Singapore can learn from Retail Distribution Review
Singapore: EQ Insurance looking at new ways to grow
Singapore: AIA launches interactive system on iPad
Taiwan: Ms Yu Chiung Tzeng is new Director General of Insurance
Taiwan: M&As in the life sector
Thailand: Viriyah makes move to capitalise on ASEAN economic integration
Judges pick finalists for2012 Asia Insurance Industry Awards
Capital, CATs & pricing dominate Monte Carlo Rendezvous
Global reinsurers' capitalisation resilient
XL Group launches environmental global programme
The Geneva Association wins Worldwide Reinsurance Award
Flood losses more than doubled in last decade – Swiss Re
Diary of Events
People on the move
Buy Now
Dr Tobias Farny, CEO Asia Pacific, Munich Re, advises that with the large losses from 2011, there is a need for rectifications in terms of how reinsurance is priced and structured. However, he stresses that this is not about seeking payback but the fact that exposures are rising. He also emphasises the importance of sustainability when arranging...
There is a new kid on Singapore’s specialist broking block. Although small compared to other MNC brokers, Berry Palmer & Lyle Ltd (BPL Global) is a large player in the political risk insurance market and will bring its pioneering PRI practices and offerings to clients in Asia, says its Deputy Chairman and co-founder Anthony...
Low interest rates, anaemic economic growth and regulatory risk present the biggest threats to the insurance sector, and more than ever, insurers need to ensure technical pricing prevails so as to remain profitable, says Dr Kurt Karl, Chief Economist of Swiss Re. By Ridwan Abbas
With close to 40% of the world’s population, China and India are not just giants of Asia, but of the world too. And there is a lot more to these two mammoth countries than sheer size. We take a look at the insurance numbers through Swiss Re’s sigma reports.
Mr Simon Drimer of Pi Financial Services Intelligence does a brief round-up of life insurance agency forces in India and China, looking at size, growth, retention, productivity, activity ratios, experience levels, and agent licensing.
The “silver tsunami” will strike the shores of many Asian countries – the only question is how soon and what is the ensuing “damage”? Mr Lye Fook Kong of SCOR Global Life Asia-Pacific explores this age-old issue.
In the first of this two-part series, Mr Paul Robinson of IBM Financial Services describes how insurers can differentiate competitively based on a superb integrated cross-channel customer experience.
In this second part of an examination into the data-driven journey, Ms Jessica Sbragia of ReMark Group champions the adoption of an integrated, multi-channel data management approach.
Mr Julien Parasie of Mazars looks at how their financial communications comply with the objectives of comparability, comprehension and relevance that are included in the IFRS framework and which form the objective of other regulatory requirements.
The door to Myanmar’s insurance market has been opened, but only ajar. It is still early days to tell if the nascent steps towards liberalisation will turn into serious strides.
The promising market prospect in China has attracted various foreign insurance brokerage companies and foreign insurance agencies. Ms Wendy Ding of Deacons Shanghai Office spells out the requirements for setting up such enterprises in China and details the recent CEPA VIII rules for this sector.
Mr Kent Chaplin from Lloyd’s Asia Pacific shares their new vision for the region as they work with all parties here – clients, insurers, reinsurers and brokers.
As Lloyd’s looks towards the overseas markets, Mr Matthew Foster of Norton Rose LLP lists various ways market participants can adopt to be a Lloyd’s member.
It is an extremely diverse pension landscape in Asia, and reforms are needed in most countries. Allianz Asia Pacific looks at this landscape and the possible need to subsidise public welfare programmes, while Principal Financial gives insights on the recently implemented Employee Choice Arrangement in Hong Kong.
The need for pension reform in Asia, Australia and New Zealand differs as dramatically as the design of the individual national pension landscapes. Mr David Fried from Allianz Asia Pacific, shares with us their Allianz Sustainability Index whereby in an overall comparison of 44 countries, Asia-Pacific nations rank among the best and among those...
Mr Rex Auyeung of Principal Financial Group shares insights on how Employee Choice Arrangement will shape Hong Kong’s pension market and what employers and employees need to know.
Consumer education is often considered an integral part of microinsurance schemes. This extract from the Geneva Association’s Insurance Economics Newsletter shares the experiences of practitioners who have conducted such programmes, while providing a summary of preliminary lessons to be drawn.
Ms Carrie Yang and Ms Amanda Li from Clyde & Co in China look at the recent relaxation on the requirements governing the investment of insurance funds in private equity and real estate.
Since the first central power stations went online in the mid-1880s, steam turbine generators have been the backbone of power generation, but there are risks associated with their operations. Mr Philip Wohlers of FM Global discusses how these hazards can be effectively averted.
The past year was one of great productivity and progress for the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). We take stock of the increasing might of the IAIS.
Ms Anna Tipping of Norton Rose (Asia) LLP examines the regulatory framework proposed by IAIS and Solvency II, as well as their interaction and also how the regulatory landscape is changing in Asia.
Mr Jingwei Jia of Swiss Re shares his analysis on the new solvency regime which CIRC will implement in three to five years along with suggestions on how to better prepare for it.
Mr Low Shih-Nin of RGA Reinsurance Company Hong Kong and Southeast Asia provides some insights and perspectives into the partnerships between banks and insurers today.
Reinsurers want to work long-term with insurers, and during times of stress, especially after natural catastrophic events, established relationships are important. A good long-term partnership is also needed to grow the marketplace as well as collect data which is so crucial as natural disasters seem to be increasing in both frequency and...
Given the still dominant concept of using microinsurance as a CSR or charitable tool to help the poor, a call was made at the 6th Asia Microinsurance Conference that it should have a price for people to realise its value. By Manuelita Contreras
On the occasion of the 6th East Asian Insurance Day on 18 October, I would like to offer my views and report on recent GIAJ initiatives.
The steep insured catastrophe losses in Asia-Pacific in 2011 will continue to push up reinsurance prices and tighten terms and conditions in the region’s key local markets in 2012.
China Re controls close to 6% of the global reinsurance business and was among the world’s top 10 reinsurers in 2011, according to a Monte Carlo Rendezvous report.
The CIRC has granted approvals for Willis China and Guy Carpenter to open new offices in Harbin and Shanghai respectively.
Great Eastern Holdings Limited has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Chongqing City Construction Investment (Group) Co Ltd to sell 25% of its equity interest in Great Eastern Life Assurance (China) Co Ltd (GELC) for a total sum of CNY303 million (US$47 million).
The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) has announced the launch of its new app, which once downloaded, would provide up-to-date information related to insurance on subscribers’ smartphones.
Concerned over increasing losses in fire segment, it was reported that the Finance Ministry has asked the four state-run general insurers to desist from charging their corporate clients “ridiculously” low fire insurance premium and from undercutting one another.
The IRDA is looking to allow more tax relief on insurance policies as life insurers gave suggestions of various proposals for this.
Life insurers have asked for the new regulation on financial accounting standards which will see their assets and income reduced, to be delayed by at least one year.
The introduction of a new solvency margin regulatory (SMR)framework in Japan in the near future may lead to both positive and negative rating changes, depending on the individual characteristics of each insurer and their management of the transition to the new regime, said Fitch Ratings in a recent report, “New Solvency Regime...
Only 107 insurers in the Philippines were issued licenses to operate from July 2012 to June 2013, down from 116 last year.
Singapore’s Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR) can learn a lot from the UK’s experience with Retail Distribution Review (RDR), said Mr Ivan Martin, Executive Chairman of Sesame Bankhall Group and Deputy Chairman of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) in the UK.
EQ Insurance, a five-year-old Singapore general insurance company, said it will increasingly look towards sharing its know-how and best practices with other insurance companies in Asia as it aims to expand in the region by acquiring insurance and underwriting companies. EQ Insurance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citystate Capital Asia...
AIA Singapore plans to launch a completely mobile and secure interactive Point of Sales (iPoS) system on iPad.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has appointed Ms Yu Chiung Tzeng as the new Director General of Insurance of Insurance Bureau.
The UK’s largest insurer Prudential is putting on sale its entire 7.7% stake in Taiwan’s China Life for NT$4.72 billion (US$158 million).
Non-life insurer Viriyah Insurance is capitalising on the impending ASEAN economic integration in 2015 and moves to expand into Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia and also non-member China.
Forty-three industry players have emerged as finalists for the 16th Asia Insurance Industry Awards out of the 800 entries received for the 14 categories.
More than 2,000 delegates gathered in Monte Carlo for the annual start of the renewal season for 2013 with many reinsurers, reinsurance brokers and rating agencies highlighting the problems and challenges in the reinsurance market today.
The overall financial position of global reinsurers coming out of 2011 has remained resilient and continues to strengthen, despite last year’s significant CAT losses and the current fiscal uncertainty, said both rating agencies, A.M. Best and Fitch.
XL Group has extended its global programme offering with the launch of XL WorldPass Environmental. The product has been developed to provide coverage to a very broad range of industrial and commercial operators.
International insurance economics think tank, The Geneva Association, was recently awarded the Worldwide Reinsurance Awards’ “Global Re/Insurance Initiative of the Year 2012”.
Flood losses are increasing at an alarming rate while the insurability of floods provides unique challenges for the industry, according to Swiss Re’s latest report, “Flood – an underestimated risk: Inspect, inform, insure”.