Regulators in the Asia Pacific will ask more questions of financial firms, including insurers, in 2017 and demand more frequent, more detailed and more accurate data, according to the Deloitte Centre for Regulatory Strategy.
Standard Chartered Bank and Allianz have announced a 15-year bancassurance agreement for the distribution of Allianz’s general insurance products, including travel, personal accident, fire and motor insurance products, to Standard Chartered’s Retail Banking clients in five key markets across Asia.
Motor insurance takes up more than half the premium pie in most markets. The slew of developments in the motor sector in the past year has seen its status elevated from a “bread and butter” insurance pillar to an exciting new world of opportunities which will only leave the traditional insurer behind.
2017 will prove to be a big year for insurance brokers, as they will be selling increasing types of cover related to the sharing economy, said Mr Mahendra Nambiar, vice president of global insurance solutions and innovations lead, at Capgemini.
2017 looks to be another year of big disruptions, transformations and innovations in the healthcare space as new technology continues to revamp the business models of old. Hence, health insurers need to keep pace with the changes in the industry, which also presents new opportunities to provide better customer experience, and encourage fitness & wellness, while simultaneously improving profitability.
The Philippines is set to be the next RBC market, with insurance companies strengthening their net worth to meet new mandatory increases. Thailand, meanwhile, is in the second phase of its RBC framework and is to align more closely with their international counterparts under similar solvency regimes. Singapore’s MAS is also looking at its own RBC2, in the expectation that it will create a more conducive environment for insurers to invest in equities and long-dated bonds and offer long-term insurance products for policyholders.
Natural therapies have become the fifth most common claim on health insurance extras cover, with an unrivalled growth rate of almost 1,900% over the past 20 years.
A devastating fire on 3 January damaged a large market in Dhaka, causing an estimated loss of over BDT5 billion (US$63.4 million), and left around 2,500 people without a livelihood. Most of the shops at the gutted Gulshan 1 DNCC Market were uninsured. Mr Sher Mohammad, chairman of the market’s shopowners’ association, said the losses caused could be around BDT5-6 billion, reported Dhaka Tribune.
The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has been holding talks with several relevant parties about promoting insurance cover for agricultural products.
2017 will be a turning point for the Chinese insurance industry as the insurance regulator CIRC is issuing several new regulations to plug gaps in corporate governance and to rein in the investment activities of insurers.
Hong Kong insurers are calling for more attractive tax exemptions for the territory’s Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS).
Hong Kong-headquartered global top-50 reinsurer, Peak Re, has been granted approval by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to establish a subsidiary in Zurich.
The insurance regulator, IRDAI, has put into effect since 16 January 2017 a regulation setting out the order of preference in which Indian insurers are to cede business to reinsurers.
Indonesia has the highest growth potential for investment-linked product (ILP) business, compared to several other Asian insurance markets including China and Hong Kong, said research and consulting firm Cerulli Associates.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has eased restrictions on investments by the insurance industry, allowing insurers to invest in a wider range of foreign assets.
The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has rejected a proposal from doctors for a national health insurance system that would allow all Malaysians to visit any hospital, private or public.
On average, 14 people are killed in traffic accidents across Myanmar every day, which means that road fatalities number around 5,000 a year, according to traffic police data.
More than half of people (56.9%) are satisfied with public safety in New Zealand, insurer IAG’s National Safety Perception survey has found.
Rising 3G/4G mobile technology penetration has boosted the potential for insurers to offer services through mobile applications, according to Mr Arshad Iqbal, Deputy General Manager and head of life operations at EFU Life Assurance.
Microinsurance providers will be strictly scrutinised starting this year to ensure their viability as well as to protect the insured public, according to the Insurance Commission. Insurance Commissioner Mr Dennis Funa, who assumed the post last December, said in a statement that the government will examine microinsurance providers with a “fine-tooth comb”, reported Manila Bulletin.
The Singapore government has started public consultations related to a review of the country’s severe disability insurance scheme which is called ElderShield.
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the national oil and gas company of Sri Lanka, has secured new risk reinsurance cover through Crescent Global South Asia (CGSA) which brokered the deal on behalf of the National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF).
Several niches exist in the Thai non-life insurance industry which promise growth for insurers, indicates Mr Jiraphant Asvatanakul, President and CEO of Thaivivat Insurance.
Vietnam’s insurance market registered robust growth last year with the life insurance segment gaining the strongest growth in 10 years.
Global
Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has agreed to buy Allied World Insurance Company, AG, for US$4.9 billion in cash and stock.
Five priorities for the London company market in 2017 have been identified by the International Underwriting Association (IUA).
The International Insurance Society (IIS) has announced the winners of two of its awards for this year.
The American Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month. Founded in New York in February 1917, the international P&I insurer, the only P&I insurer in the Americas, has published a book entitled The American Club: A Centennial History to celebrate its first hundred years.
Corporate Risk Management
The recently issued World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risks Report 2017 has identified five key global challenges for 2017.
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