With Sri Lanka looking set to be the next Asian country to embrace the risk-based capital regime, Asia Insurance Review, with the endorsement of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, and supported by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Insurance Society, is hosting a strategic seminar to help companies prepare for the new regime while learning from experiences of markets that have already ventured into RBC.
Buy Now
The Asian insurance market is tipped to see US$5 billion worth of M&A deals this year, after such takeovers hit a record $30.5 billion last year, boosted by rising valuations.
Buy Now
A specialist consultancy has been launched to work with insurers and underwriting agencies across the Asia Pacific region to assess the competency of existing reinsurance intermediary arrangements and measure this against the capabilities of alternative organisations.
Buy Now
The trend of rising premiums for high-risk properties will continue, said the Institute of Actuaries of Australia in a submission to a senate inquiry examining extreme weather and climate change.
Buy Now
Domestic insurers are expected to pay at least CNY142 million (US$23 million) in claims to victims of the earthquake that devastated the Ya'an region in Sichuan province on 20 April, said CIRC.
Buy Now
AXA will buy a 50% stake in Chinese motor insurer Tian Ping for EUR485 million (US$631 million), making the group China's largest foreign P&C insurer.
Buy Now
Mainland Chinese customers, enjoying rising affluence, are becoming increasingly important to Hong Kong's life insurers.
Buy Now
To solidify Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre, the government should provide tax exemptions for offshore marine insurers to encourage them to set up offices in the city, said a study commissioned by the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers.
Buy Now
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) wants insurers to offer maturity benefits for every microinsurance plan so as to make it attractive.
Buy Now
Meiji Yasuda Life and Sumitomo Life are also considering increasing their foreign bond holdings after Nippon Life and Asahi Mutual Life announced their plans to do so as the Bank of Japan rakes up JPY7.5 trillion (US$75.4 billion) of government bonds per month, pulling down yields on domestic debt.
Buy Now
HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings has agreed to sell its 50% less one share in Hana HSBC Life to Hana Financial Group.
Buy Now
MAA Group's board has given in-principle approval to sell its 83% stake in MAA General Assurance, its joint venture with an Indonesian businessman, who holds the remaining 17% stake.
Buy Now
Non-life gross premiums grew 8.2% to MYR15.2 billion (US$5.02 billion) last year, overtaking the 7.85% increase to MYR14 billion in 2011.
Buy Now
The rebuilding of Christchurch will cost a total NZ$40 billion (US$34 billion), an increase of 33% from a previous estimate made last December, said Prime Minister John Key.
Buy Now
Starr International Insurance (Asia) has received approval from the Insurance Commission to establish a branch office to provide general insurance.
Buy Now
A total of 10 domestic non-life insurers are in various stages of forming joint ventures or merging operations, and eight of them have already submitted their formal intentions with the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission, said Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc.
Buy Now
The life sector in Singapore grew 9% y-o-y to reach a total of S$561.8 million (US$452.8 million) in weighted new business premiums for the first quarter of 2013, said the Life Insurance Association of Singapore.
Buy Now
The total gross written premium (GWP) of insurance companies in Sri Lanka rose by 11% to LKR89 billion (US$708 million) in 2012.
Buy Now
Households accounted for 92% of the total 808,119 CAT policies purchased from the National Catastrophe Insurance Fund the past year, while policies bought by SMEs and industrial customers accounted for only 7% and 1% respectively of the total, said the fund.
Buy Now