US-based life and health reinsurer Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) is targeting further strong growth in Asia on the back of recently closing a $4.7bn deal in Japan.
Sun Life has introduced the SunWell Series, a new suite of critical illness protection plans, across Asia.
Over the medium to long term, substantial growth in the property and casualty reinsurance in the APAC region continues to be anticipated, says Hannover Re in its outlook on the sector.
According to the PERILS Industry Exposure Database (IED) 2024, the impact of inflation on insured exposures "continues to be visible". For instance, the PERILS IED for wind Japan remained stable in terms of JPY with y-o-y growth in "low single digits". However, when compared to the USD, the sums insured represented a decline of 5.1% y-o-y due to the appreciating dollar.
Hong Kong's Insurance Authority (IA) published its consultation conclusions on six draft rules concerning the implementation of a risk-based capital (RBC) regime in April 2024. This action follows the Legislative Council passing the Insurance (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 and subsequent publishing of the six draft rules for public consultation in December 2023 and January 2024.
Out of seven insurers in China, outlooks for six were rated 'negative', according to Fitch Ratings, while t the seventh remained 'stable'. A 'negative' outlook "reflects a potential decline in the willingness and ability of the government to support insurers with weaker standalone credit quality, during times of financial stress", Fitch said.
The Indian Ocean is expected to experience accelerated surface warming of 1.4 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius between 2020 and 2100, which will push it into a near-permanent heatwave state. It will also intensify cyclones, affect the monsoon and lead to a rise in sea levels according to a new study.
In Asia, one in three business leaders reported that political risk was the biggest threat to their business this year.
One of the world's leading reinsurers, Hannover Re, posted gross reinsurance revenue in the Australasia region in 2023 of EUR4.57bn ($4.92bn), 6.4% lower than in 2023, according to the reinsurer's 2023 Annual Report.
Insurance industry doyen and a founding editor of Asia Insurance Review Reynaldo de Dios passed away on 5 May 2024. He was 96 and had played an integral role in the insurance sector for 75 years.