Standard & Poor's (S&P) said it considered acceptance of the use of insurance to be key to the stability of Malaysia's insurance industry, particularly its Shari’ah-compliant insurance, or Takaful, sector. Malaysian Takaful companies have developed a track record of generating profits in the form of fund surpluses, and of making...
Public sector general insurer United India Insurance has affirmed it is looking to re-enter the overseas markets and will soon carry out a feasibility study to assess the business potential. The company was present in Hong Kong, but had shut office in 2002. The company will undertake a feasibility study for...
Major nonlife insurance companies soon will start selling new products to insure cell-cultivating companies against errors in regenerative medicine. The launch, expected as early as October, will be the first time that such products have been sold in Japan. The new products are expected to encourage patients and hospitals to...
Overall life-insurance premium in Thailand hit about THB210 billion at the end of May, representing year-on-year growth of 20.48 percent during the first five months of the year. New premiums during the period amounted to THB77.55 billion, up 29.1 percent, while the policy-retention rate was as high as 86 percent...
Australian insurance profits grew 8.3 percent last financial year to a post-global financial crisis record of USD4.96 billion amid escalating competitive pressures, according to KPMG. Rising premiums drove the gains, despite a slowdown compared with previous years, while the NSW bushfires were the only catastrophes to cost the industry more...
Insurers and financial advisory firms will be given more time to fall in line with a new framework to be used in assessing the performance of their sales staff and how they are paid. Known as the "balanced scorecard" approach, the new framework will take into account non-sales factors in...
India: Welcoming the Cabinet’s approval to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling, the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) said the move will drive capital infusion in the cash-starved sector by attracting investments from foreign players, enhance insurance cover and push firms to provide long-term savings vehicles. “We welcome the Cabinet’s...
Singapore: The life insurance industry reported slower growth in the second quarter, with the total weighted premium down by 10 percent year on year to SGD660.3 million (USD528.2 million), according to statistics released by the Life Insurance Association. The decline was mainly due to a drop of 19 percent in the...
Japan: Non-life insurers in Japan are set to raise their earthquake insurance premiums by an average of 15.5 percent today, the first hike in 18 years. The increase comes as estimates on damage from powerful earthquakes that were revised following the magnitude-9 quake and subsequent tsunami that struck the Tohoku...
Australia: Australian-listed global insurer QBE has said it is expecting to post a first-half net profit after tax of around USD390 million, while analysts had generally been expecting a result closer to USD547 million for the period. The result will also be well down on last year’s first-half profit of...
