Cover Story – Risk Management in Strategic Decision-Making
Cover Story: Risk Management - BCM Systems are Key to Successful Business Operations
News - India: IRDA's Blueprint for Risk-Based Capital Norms to Be Out by March
Global News - Chief Risk Officers' Highest Paid Salaries
Economies around the world are currently suffering the worst financial crisis in decades. Central to this is the failure of a number of major banks which, until recently, were thought to be ahead of insurers in implementing risk management. So how did this come about? Is it a failure of risk management or a failure of how it has been...
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Mr Tetsuo Shibata of Interisk Asia discusses why companies need to consider and mitigate potential risks to their businesses and operations so that they will be well-prepared to manage situations that may arise.
India’s Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is scheduled to release a roadmap on risk-based capital norms by March 2009, to set capital requirements or solvency margins for insurers, taking into consideration the extent and degree of risk they undertake.
The highest base salary in the risk management field goes to the Chief Risk Officer or Vice President of a US-based company at US$170,683, with the Director of Insurance and Risk Management coming in second-highest at US$118,200, according to the results of a 2008 Risk Management Compensation Survey conducted between 5 May and 30 June 2008 in...
With an equity capital of US$620 million, Asia Capital Reinsurance (ACR) has achieved US$342 million in premium income in its first financial year to March 2008 and a profit after tax of US$10 million. In an exclusive interview with its CEO John Tan, Asia Insurance Review finds out how ACR is doing and its plans going forward.
The volatile capital markets have underscored the need for companies to remain nimble and cautious of their investments and growth strategies. Friends Provident has not been spared from the turbulence. During his whirlwind trip to Asia in September, Mr Trevor Matthews, CEO of Friends Provident, talks to our journalist, Ms...
How does a big global player like Guy Carpenter behave in a market to keep its lead? By acting like a big broker? Not really. In fact, it does just the opposite: In its client relationships, it behaves with the same care and attention of a small independent broker. But it makes sure it can release the full strength of its global resources, said...
The LIC Pension Fund Ltd was the first pension fund company to receive the Certificate of Commencement of Business from the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra, in January 2008, after receiving approval from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). In an exclusive interview with Asia Insurance Review, Dr H...
Following its takeover of Converium over a year ago, SCOR is consolidating its position in the region, which accounts for 10% of its non-life premiums. Messrs Benjamin Gentsch, Deputy CEO of SCOR Global P&C, and Michel Blanc, Chief Underwriting Officer, Treaty P&C–Asia Pacific, provide...
Boosting insurance infrastructure and insurance awareness is key to responding to the needs of insurance sectors in the developing world, the new Head of the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Insurance Programme, Mr Marko Stanovic, said in an interview with our journalist, Ms Min Yong.
Across Asia, thousands of expatriates, diplomats, NGO officials and high-net-worth individuals benefit from the expert healthcare insurance plan administration of Vanbreda International (VI). The leading medical claims handling specialist, which is stepping up its operations in Asia, offers not just a service in claims administration but acts as...
Hong Kong’s contracting market, waning opportunities, and tight competition makes the option of consolidation an appealing or even inevitable recourse especially for the small market players. However, Hong Kong still seems to have a leadership role and edge in Asia. The health insurance industry is expected to soar with the implementation...
Discussions to turn the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) into an independent statutory body have been going on since 2000. In an exclusive interview with Mr Clement Cheung, Commissioner of Insurance, our journalist, Ms Shakun Ashoka Raj finds out the underlying rationale of this initiative, what OCI has...
The first half of this year saw premium growth and underwriting profit decline in various lines of non-life business. The market’s fragmentation and competition in pricing and distribution make it tougher to develop and grow business. But insurers are optimistic that the medical sector will bring them a much-needed growth. Our Journalist,...
Contrary to the widespread notion that the Hong Kong insurance industry is heavily saturated with too many players, our Journalist, Ms Shakun Ashoka Raj, finds out in exclusive interviews with several insurers that the industry is, indeed, still very much alive and highly profitable, and traces the rather unusual market trend of...
We hear from insurance chief executives and managers in Hong Kong of the territory’s edge and leadership role in the region.
The health insurance industry in the metropolis looks poised to grow further with the publication of the recent healthcare reform consultation document as public awareness of the need for health insurance and to better safeguard one’s future has risen, especially among the rapidly growing ageing population. In exclusive interviews with...
Brokers in Hong Kong continue to be faced with the challenging reality of a waning flow of opportunities and a contracting market. Business areas that promise growth are few and far between. Nevertheless, some market players remain optimistic and have honed in on the employee benefit and medical lines, which hold possibilities of growth. Our...
When Asia Insurance Review conducted interviews with regional reinsurers in early September for this cover story, no one could have predicted the rapid turn of events that would send world markets tumbling and traders the world over scrambling to take cover amid the continuing steep global downturn. Regional reinsurers were then...
Many reinsurers are increasing their presence in emerging markets. How do cedants choose between local and global players? Messrs Kevin Willis, Director – Financial Services, and Rob Jones, Managing Director, both of Standard & Poor’s in London, check out this question which has become even...
With the annual Rendez-Vous de Septembre right in the middle of hurricane season, statements about renewal terms during the event are usually no longer definitive. This year, the discussions on rates became even more inconclusive as Ike loomed on the horizon, about to make landfall and cause losses of around US$16 billion. This did not stop the...
Ms Denise Garth of Innovation Group discusses the importance for organisations in today’s changing world to adopt a proactive and innovation-based approach to fundamentally “change the game” within the industry.
We bring you a quick look at on-going pension reforms around the world as a curtain raiser to our 5th Asian Pensions Conference in Beijing.
We look at the market seven years after its opening and zero in on the management philosophies of some of the general insurers in India.
Mr Walter R Stahel of The Geneva Association examines the links between opportunities and risks, the traditional role of insurance as the risk specialist, and the need to view sustainability as a holistic and systemic concept.
We bring you a legal perspective on the business opportunities offered by initiatives like low carbon projects, insurance for, and investment in, renewable and nuclear energy projects, and carbon trading.
Business continuity plans are crucial, especially during major catastrophes, and companies without them are far more likely to suffer negative consequences, says Mr William Reed of Asia FM Global.
The current crisis will bring about a wholesale change in the global financial system which has proven to be systemically weak and unstable. Its impact will be more wide-ranging than the Great Depression of 1929, says Mr Nehemiah Neo of VRS Insight Group.
Despite the ongoing turbulence in world financial markets exacerbated by the recent collapse of top investment banks in the US, the Principal Financial Group describes the positive stance towards sales of its diversified “lifestyle funds” – a mix of stocks, bonds and other investments – for retirement funds.
Mr Richard Schofield of Communications & Affinity Sun Alliance Insurance (China), shares RSA’s plans to build a meaningful presence in the Mainland and to be a torch-bearer in the push to drive up standards and quality of service.
The man from Brunei who became the President of the East Asian Insurance Congress.
The insurance industry in Asia has sufficiently strong fundamentals to withstand the current global financial turmoil, but its profits will be significantly eroded over the next year, says Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
The Australian Workers Union (AWU) said that a carbon insurance plan will be needed for workers made redundant by companies forced overseas when Australia adopts an emissions trading scheme, reported an Australian newspaper.
In a move to further broaden its membership base, the Australasian Association of Insurance Brokers Incorporated (AAIB Inc) has granted membership to brokers associations from three different states.
Personal wealth in Australia increased at the fastest pace in the world - at an average yearly rate of 12% in the five years to 2007 to A$2.5 trillion (US$2.07 billion) - according to research conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
With 60 private insurance companies competing for market share in Bangladesh, the country’s new insurance legislation, which imposes higher capital requirements, will force the merger of small insurers with inadequate solvency, according to media reports.
In a move to further protect policyholders, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will keep a close eye on the operations of investment-linked insurance products and watch for misleading sales, media sources reported.
China’s premium revenue is expected to hit 1 trillion yuan (US$146.3 billion) this year on strengthened promotion and increasing demand, said a senior official in Beijing, according to media reports.
The Insurance Association of China (IAC) has said that standardised claims documents will be introduced early next year to simplify claims procedures in vehicle collision disputes.
The inland province of Inner Mongolia saw property & casualty (P&C) insurance premiums of 4.2 billion yuan (US$617 million) in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 63.2% over the corresponding period last year, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).
Several general insurers in India plan to launch new health insurance products to boost their expansion, including cover for outpatients and policies that will not require annual renewal, reported a local newspaper.
India’s Tata’s Sons is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in insurer AIA, which has more than one million customers in Singapore, and holds total assets at market value amounting to more than S$24 billion (US$16 billion) as at 22 September, media sources reported on 18 October.
The bankruptcy of Yamato Life Insurance is an isolated case and stems from its investment policies that favour high-yielding securities. It is not an indication of the broader health of Japan’s insurance industry, said Mr Shoichi Nakagawa, the country’s Finance Minister, according to media reports.
Japan’s Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry plans to ease eligibility criteria for the receipt of public pension payouts, reported a local newspaper citing a draft of the pension reform plan.
Issues of distribution and deregulation were key points at the Insurance School (Non-Life) of Japan’s (ISJ) Overseas Seminar held in Seoul on 23 September, and in Taipei on 26 September.
Etiqa Takaful has launched a specially designed medical protection scheme that reimburses the insured for medical expenses incurred due to a natural or accidental cause.
TM Asia Life Malaysia Bhd has relocated its office in Butterworth, Penang, to a more strategic location within the town. The new office will focus on promoting the company’s range of products and services to agents and customers.
Mr Yassir Albaharna, CEO of Arab Insurance Group (Arig), has been named among the “Top 40 Most Influential” reinsurance leaders by the British magazine Global Reinsurance.
NTUC Income Insurance has been ranked the general insurer with the highest reputation for 2008, followed by AXA Insurance, HSBC Insurance and AIG in second, third and fourth place, respectively, according to the third annual Corporate Reputation Survey.
ACR ReTakaful SEA is targeting the Islamic insurance markets of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, which are seeing growth in excess of 20% a year, according to media sources.
High living costs in the country are hampering insurance penetration which saw about 232,700 life policies lapse in 2007 because customers failed to pay premiums to keep the policies going, the local media reported. In 2007, insurers in the country issued about 527,400 life insurance policies.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, a local university is offering an actuarial science programme. Uva Wellassa University now offers a Postgraduate Diploma in Actuarial Science, with the first intake starting in January 2009. The programme is aimed at giving insurance and financial sector practitioners basic technical knowledge in actuarial...
The national pension system officially commenced on 1 October, providing pension benefits to those who are not covered by insurance. But critics say the system could go bankrupt within a year-and-a-half due to a deficit of supporting funds.
Fubon Financial Holdings has entered into an agreement to buy ING Group’s Taiwan life insurance unit for US$600 million, its parent company Fubon Financial Holdings said in a statement on 17 October.
Financial technology solutions and service provider 3i Infotech has inked a deal with Thai insurer Krungthai Panich Insurance Company Ltd (KPI) for the use of its insurance solution product PREMIA™ to expand KPI’s non-life insurance business in Thailand for a total investment in excess of 100 million baht (US$3.3 million).
The Thai Life Assurance Association (TLAA) is hosting the 24th Pacific Insurance Conference (PIC) to be held in Bangkok from 1 to 4 November 2009, and will serve as an opportunity for life insurers to share experiences in problem solving and to discuss strategies for future expansion and success of the industry.
Vietnam has implemented a new decree, which took effect last month to promote the benefits of compulsory motor insurance and to penalise owners of vehicles and motorcycles who fail to take up the insurance, according to a local media report.
Munich Re has earmarked £3 million (US$5.2 million) to set up an independent research centre to analyse the risks and opportunities of climate change for the insurance industry in a five-year co-operation agreement with the London School of Economics (LSE), the Germany-based reinsurance giant announced in late October.
Costs to the reinsurance industry from Hurricane Ike and Gustav are estimated to hit up to US$20 billion, with Munich Re estimating the highest losses of as much as US$500 million, and Swiss Re expecting a US$300 million claims estimate. On losses from other reinsurers due to the hurricanes, RenaissanceRe is expecting third-quarter losses of...
Of 1,000 people surveyed, 68% were “very confident” or “somewhat confident” about American International Group, Inc (AIG)’s financial strength, but 71% of the Group’s commercial lines policyholders planned to obtain quotes for policy renewal from AIG’s competitors, the results of a survey released on 2...
A new research project to study climate change and its economic impact on the insurance industry initiated by 40 CEOs of leading insurance and reinsurance companies kicked off its meeting at the General Assembly of the Geneva Association on 26 September this year.
News that UK insurance giants Prudential and Aviva may be forced to sell off assets because of their exposure to declines in the stock market and in corporate bonds sent their shares sliding by 65½p to 304½p (US$1.14 to USD$6.03), and 39p to 353p, a 17.7% and 9.9% plummet, respectively on 17 October.
Dr John S Bickley, celebrated scholar and esteemed founder of the International Insurance Society (IIS) and the Insurance Hall of Fame, passed away on 12 October, aged 90.