FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial and industrial property insurers, is constructing a new loss prevention training and operations centre in Singapore. Called FM Global Asia SimZone, it is the company’s first hands-on training facility in Asia.
The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) has launched its new insurance education model in which learning is carried out entirely online and combines audio, visual and interactive tasks.
Australia’s parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services will conduct an inquiry into the life insurance industry, following a series of scandals that have rocked consumer faith in the sector.
The insurance regulator has shelved a new directive on management expenses for non-life insurers after it found that the new required ceiling on the expenses was unrealistic for the industry.
GIC Bhutan Re, now into its fourth year of operations, has carried out business in the Middle East, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and African regions.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has revealed that the Chinese government-run China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) is in talks to enter the country’s insurance market.
The insurance regulator has given the green light for the establishment of five new insurers in the less developed inland provinces of China.
CIRC has introduced new rules to curtail short- and mid-term life insurance products. The new rules say that at the end of the latest quarter, an insurance company’s annual premiums from short- to mid-term products should be less than two times the greater of an insurer’s invested capital or net assets. The annual premiums for products with terms of 1-3 years should only comprise 50% of an insurer’s total premiums by 2018, reported Reuters citing a CIRC statement.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ wholly owned Luxembourg subsidiary, Swiss Re International SE, has received formal authorisation from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance Hong Kong to carry on general insurance business in or from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-headquartered Peak Reinsurance has said that its shareholders’ funds have increased by US$100 million to $816.9 million in time for the upcoming renewal season.
The finalists shortlisted for the Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2016 have been unveiled, comprising three finalists in each of 15 awards categories.
In the fundraising exercise, ICICI Bank, the parent company of the life insurer, offered a total of 181.34 million shares. Anchor investors were alloted 48.96 million shares on 16 September, with funds raised of INR1,635 crore (US$244 million).
The government plans to release soon a framework for identifying systemically important financial institutions (SIFI) which is being drawn up in consultation with regulatory bodies including the Reserve Bank of India.
Allianz and Maybank have entered into a 10-year bancassurance agreement in Indonesia. The partnership will deliver comprehensive life and health insurance solutions to more than 4 million Maybank customers
The proportion of newly signed fire insurance contracts in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2016 that include earthquake damage coverage rose by 0.9 percentage point from the previous year to a record 60.2%, according to industry data.
The South Korean insurance industry saw combined net profits for the first half of the year fall from a year ago, with life insurers reporting a 17.9% fall in net gains to KRW2.29 trillion (US$2.04 billion) while nonlife insurers saw a year-on-year increase of 21.1% to KRW2.03 trillion.
Shipping company Hanjin recently announced it was entering administration, following financial difficulties. Within a day of the announcement, ports began to refuse to allow Hanjin vessels entry into their ports, for fear of not being paid port fees. The 3,700-TEU containership, Hanjin Rome, has become the first Hanjin vessel to be arrested by creditors, while it was in the port of Singapore, according to reports.
Macau’s insurance sector saw business expand by 54.2% year-on-year for the first half of the year with total gross premiums of MOP10.4 billion (US$1.3 billion), according to the Monetary Authority of Macau.
The Malaysian life insurance industry registered a 20.8% growth in new business weighted premiums in the first half of 2016 to MYR2.44 billion (US$594 million), according to the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM).
The Malaysian general insurance industry paid MYR13.2 million (US$3.3 million) per day in motor claims for property damage, bodily injury and vehicle theft in the first half of this year. In a statement, the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) called the figure “staggering”.
The Philippine insurance industry recorded total net income of PHP19.17 billion (US$413.6 million) for the first half of this year, a 76.52% growth from PHP10.86 billion for the corresponding period in 2015, per preliminary data based on quarterly reports submitted by the life and non-life insurance sectors to the Insurance Commission (IC).
FWD Insurance, Singapore’s newest life and general insurer, has started its direct-to-consumer insurance business with the launch of its travel and car insurance products. The company is investing S$500 million (US$366 million) in Singapore over the next five years and will launch more life and general insurance products later this year.
The Singapore Reinsurers’ Association (SRA) has launched a new Women in Reinsurance (WiRE) Sub-Committee to offer support to women in the reinsurance industry and actively encourage them to develop their careers to the utmost potential.
Regulators and the industry must collaborate to work on sustainable growth, said Ms Lee Wai Yi, Director & Head of Supervisory Analytics Division, Insurance Department, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), at the Life Insurance Conference recently.
From 1 September, the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) has implemented the revised Premium Payment Framework (PPF), which has been substantially improved to boost efficiency in the collection of premiums for all classes of general insurance policies.
Asia Insurance has launched PokéSurance, an online-only insurance product, targeted at players of the wildly popular new game Pokemon Go. Pokesurance covers damage to the mobile phone, personal accidents, motorcycle accidents and car accidents.
Global
France’s state-owned reinsurer, Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR), has launched a new subsidiary named CCR Re, for its open market reinsurance business.
Greenlight Reinsurance Ireland, a subsidiary of Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd, a specialist property and casualty reinsurer, has entered into an agreement with Kattan Associates Limited to develop business opportunities in the European and Asian markets, on behalf of Greenlight Re and its subsidiary companies.
Almost 8% of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) population (48.6 million people) are covered by microinsurance as of the end 2013 and this amounts to US$828 million in premiums, according to a study published by the Microinsurance Network and the Munich Re Foundation which was launched at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Latin American Reinsurance Group (LARG) held in August.
Corporate Risk Management
Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) have launched the Asia Pacific Risk Center (APRC) in Singapore to analyse the key risks facing industries, governments and societies in Asia and identify practical ways to build resilience.
The Risk Management Society (RIMS) is exploring options to expand its presence in Asia Pacific, said Ms Julie Pemberton, its current President during a recent visit to the region.
Events Page
The Singapore Insurance Institute organised “SII Charity Ball 2016” recently for the industry to gather and give back to society.