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Dec 2019

News


Asian

ASEAN: Bullish prospects for region's insurance market

Economic development in ASEAN has led to an increase in premium growth, and the momentum likely is to continue, says AM Best in a report titled, ‘ASEAN – Favourable Demographics and Development Boost Economic Growth’.
 


Asia: McKinsey says region's insurers need to seize digital opportunities

Asian insurers need to take charge of the opportunity that lies ahead of them or lose out to fast-paced, digital natives entering the insurance market, says global consulting firm McKinsey.
 


Australia: Premium prices continue to increase

Overall insurance pricing in the third quarter of 2019 in the Pacific region, of which Australia forms the largest market, increased nearly 19%, continuing a trend that began in 2015, says Marsh.
 


Bangladesh: 31 insurance companies must list on the bourse by 31 Dec

Thirty one insurance companies in Bangladesh have so far shown no eagerness in obtaining a listing on the local bourse, despite orders from the Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
 


Hong Kong: 1.7m adults lack healthcare protection

A newly released survey shows that more than a million Hongkongers don’t have any kind of healthcare protection, preferring to put their cash in investments or spend it on entertainment, shopping, and housing instead.
 


India: Multi-peril crop insurance model launched

Boston-headquartered catastrophe risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) has released a Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) Model for India to help support probabilistic assessments of potential losses caused by yield shortfalls for 11 major crops across the two main India crop-growing seasons. 
 


Indonesia: Credit insurance to push growth of non-life business

The general insurance business is expected to continue to grow on the back of an expansion in credit insurance business which is in turn fuelled by bank lending.
 


Japan: Insurers increase premium rates

Japan’s four largest non-life insurers will raise premiums on fire insurance policies by about 4%, with the increase to take effect as early as January 2021. The policies cover fire, flood and wind damage.
 


Malaysia: Only 15% of SMEs have flood insurance

With only around 15% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) having flood insurance, more than 80% of businesses are severely at risk from natural disasters, according to AIG Malaysia.
 


New Zealand: Reserve Bank chief calls for more effort to build confidence in insurance

Building public confidence in the insurance sector requires more effort from all industry participants, Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Adrian Orr has said.
 


Singapore: MAS acts to promote responsible adoption of AI

The MAS is working with financial industry partners to create a framework for financial institutions to promote the responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA).
 


South Korea: Life insurers see first negative spread in over 70 years

South Korean life insurers suffered negative spread in June, the first such experience for the industry since it started over 70 years ago, raising concerns that the companies could chalk up more losses as they sold more coverage.
 


Sri Lanka: Actuaries need to take into account investment volatility

An important topic which the insurance industry in Sri Lanka needs to think about is that products which were priced a long time ago are still priced in the in the net present value regime, Willis Towers Watson Actuarial Advisory partner Kunj Behari Maheshwari has warned.
 


Taiwan: Insurers' exposure to Hong Kong grows

The exposure of Taiwan’s financial sector to Hong Kong increased to top NT$1tn ($3.79bn) as at the end of September, even as the territory was embroiled in political chaos, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
 


Thailand: Online insurance broker surprised at age distribution of its customer base

More older customers are purchasing auto insurance plans online than expected, online motor insurance broker Roojai.com has found.
 


Vietnam: Bancassurance is a winning distribution strategy for insurers

Bancassurance sales have shown impressive growth in Vietnam, accounting for 30% of total premium revenue currently compared to 10% in 2016.
 


China

Reinsurance in China yet to reflect size of the direct insurance market

While the mainland Chinese insurance market has grown to become the second largest in the world, the domestic reinsurance market posted total premiums of only about CNY180bn ($25.7bn) in 2018, accounting for 8.5% of the global market, a senior CBIRC official has said.
 


Revised health insurance regulation takes effect on 1 Dec

The CBIRC has issued its revised health insurance regulation that for the first time provides for health management services. The guideline covers medical reimbursement, critical illness, accident and health and long-term care products.
 


Govt agencies studying feasibility of forming agricultural reinsurer

The relevant authorities are currently studying the feasibility of establishing a national agricultural reinsurance company, to strengthen agricultural insurance services in the country.
 


Global

Lloyd's to form single governing body

Lloyd’s has announced its decision to merge the Council and the Franchise Board with effect from 1 June 2020, after receiving widespread support from across the market.
 


Allianz and Microsoft form partnership to transform insurance processes

Allianz and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership focused on digitally transforming the insurance industry, making the insurance process easier while creating a better experience for insurance companies and their customers.
 


Risk

PARIMA Kuala Lumpur 2019 Conference - 'Redefining Risks' highlights

The 2019 conferences of the Pan-Asia Risk and Insurance Management Association (PARIMA) concluded with the final conference in Kuala Lumpur on 5 November 2019. The theme for 2019 was ‘Redefining Risks’.
 


Events Page

Brunei marks EAIC Day by creating more awareness on financial literacy

The Brunei Insurance & Takaful Association (BITA) celebrated EAIC Insurance day on 18th October 2019. Recognising the importance of financial literacy and awareness, the industry launched an awareness video aimed at helping the general public understand how insurance and takaful could be one of the vehicles in managing finance and risk.