Fitch Ratings has placed five Taiwanese life insurers under review for potential downgrades, following significant balance sheet pressures caused by a sharp appreciation of the Taiwan dollar in early-May.
The Executive Yuan of Taiwan has approved a draft bill that would give individuals the option to opt out from having their National Health Insurance (NHI) records used for nonmedical purposes according to a report in The Taipei Times.
On May 14, Ant Insurance, an online insurance platform under Ant Group, announced that its flagship medical insurance product - Haoyibao long-term medical plan (flagship version) - is now open to residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The move aims to improve financial service accessibility for these groups living in mainland China.
The Taiwan dollar's sharp rally against the US dollar in the first week of May has heightened foreign exchange risk exposure for Taiwanese life insurers who have been allocating a large portion of their invested assets in foreign investments, mainly USD-denominated fixed income securities.
The sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar (NT$) against the US dollar in the spot and non-deliverable forward markets since the end of April 2025 has stirred concerns about the life insurance sector as about 70% of their investments are in overseas bonds and equities.
The per capita healthcare spending programme implemented in country's Xiulin township on a trial basis has been successful. The programme pilot initiated by the National Health Insurance Administration will now be expanded into more areas of Hualien and Taitung region.
According to Prudential, in 1Q2025, new business profit on a traditional embedded value went up 12% to $608m, annual premium equivalent (APE) sales went up 4% to $1.7bn and new the new business margin increased by two percentage points.
Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) will soon expand its coverage to include three types of cancer immunotherapies for its members.
Taiwan will amend its National Health Insurance Drug Reimbursement Guidelines (NHIDRG) to encourage country's pharmaceutical companies to produce more medicines within the country. The announcement comes amid possible price fluctuations caused by exchange rate changes or increased costs resulting from the new US tariffs.
Taiwan's insurance companies are more vulnerable to market volatility triggered by US tariffs due to their smaller capital buffers according to a major international ratings agency. The nation's banks, however, remain well-capitalised and are able to absorb potential economic shocks, the rating agency said.