The infrastructure sector in Asia’s emerging markets promises huge opportunities for insurers but first, hurdles like state monopolies and regulatory frameworks need to be re-examined, said Mr Chandri Gunawardhana, a former Director General of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.
Patients who choose the private option at public hospitals are unwittingly pushing up medical insurance premiums, with health insurers now paying more than A$1 billion (US$768 million) a year for care at public hospitals.
The Bangladeshi government will soon sign a US$65 million loan agreement with the World Bank to increase insurance coverage, enhance consumer protection and improve the efficiency of the insurance market.
Insurance premiums in China last year grew at their fastest pace since 2008, driven by life insurance, according to CIRC data.
Mandatory employees’ compensation insurance is likely to continue to be a driver for the Hong Kong market in 2017, with businesses seeking premium rate reductions that are currently consistently obtained due to stiff competition, says Aon Risk Solutions in its Asia Market Review 2017.
The government’s FY2017-18 Budget has been hailed for boosting the potential for increased insurance coverage in the country. Among the fiscal measures announced in his Budget speech on 1 February, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley increased the coverage under the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMSBY) from 30% of crop areas currently to 40% in 2017-18 and 50% in 2018-19.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) will encourage investments by insurance companies and pension funds in securities issued by the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI), or Indonesia Eximbank, to support its export promotion programmes.
Non-life insurers in Japan are trying to determine how self-driving cars will affect their automobile insurance premiums which currently account on average for around half of their revenue.
Only a quarter of shops at traditional markets across South Korea are insured against fire as petty merchants are reluctant to pay premiums amid a protracted economic slowdown, a survey has shown.
Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance has entered into a comprehensive partnership with Lao-Viet Insurance, Laos’ second-largest non-life insurer.
More than 100,000 self-employed cabbies as well as Uber and Grab drivers will be covered under the Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) when the Self Employment Social Security Bill 2017 becomes law this year. The new law is set to take effect on 1 June.
Spring padi growers can now insure their crop with the introduction of a new yield-based insurance policy by the Insurance Board (IB).
Three out of four Kiwis think that third party insurance should be compulsory for the three million passenger vehicles currently on New Zealand roads, according to research from customer satisfaction research and ratings firm Canstar Blue.
Pakistan’s life insurance sector has been in a high-growth mode for the last few years, with its performance in 2016 estimated to have been consistent with this trend, according to EFU Life Assurance Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr Taher Sachak.
Singapore’s central bank, MAS, has announced a series of specific measures to build technology infrastructure to drive innovation. The goal is to position the financial services industry, including the insurance companies, for the future economy.
The Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) has issued guidelines on conducting investigations into insurance claims.
Taiwan’s financial regulator is curbing investments by domestic insurers in international corporate bonds redeemable by issuers within five years, as it moves to clamp down on risk. The new rule is set to take effect on 25 March 2017.
Interest rates will remain at a low level even as they are expected to increase this year, according to Allianz Ayudhya Assurance (AZAY) which added that the low-interest environment is a key factor for protection insurance growth.
Life insurance companies were the major investors in government bonds last year, particularly long-term paper, snapping up nearly 90% of 30-year government bonds, worth more than VND21 trillion (US$925 million).
Global
Mr Yoshihiro Kawai, Secretary General of the IAIS, will retire following its Annual Conference in November this year. He will be succeeded by Mr Jonathan Dixon of South Africa’s Financial Services Board, who will join the Secretariat in September for a two-month transition before taking over.
10 more insurers and reinsurers have joined an industry initiative to advance the use of blockchain technology to exchange data more efficiently between reinsurance and insurance companies, giving the initiative a truly global scope with members from Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The insurance sector remained well-functioning and stable in 2016, as evidenced by high capital levels, positive profitability, and a persistent inflow of additional capital, said the 2016 edition of the Global Insurance Market Report (GIMAR) authored by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
Corporate Risk Management
The Australian government has launched a centre dedicated to managing the complex and evolving national security risks to Australia’s critical infrastructure.
Global
Ransomware attacks quadrupled in 2016 from the year before, with nearly half of them in the healthcare sector, and are expected to double in 2017, according to recent breach insights from Beazley’s Breach Response Services (BBR) unit.
The 2017 annual conference and exhibition of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) heads for the East Coast of the USA and will take place in Philadelphia from 23-26 April 2017.
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Four projects which aim to tackle some of Singapore’s healthcare and traffic issues have been awarded the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Welfare Foundation (MSIWF) research grant for 2016.