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Ongoing Confusion over Foreigners’ Inclusion in China’s Social Security System

There continues to be continued uncertainty over whether, as well as how, China is going to include foreign workers in the nation’s social security scheme, with only 3 cities so far, including the nation’s capital, having committed themselves to registering and taxing foreign employees.

The inclusion of foreigners in China’s social security taxation structure is part of China’s health care reforms and the modernization of the country’s social welfare structure to accommodate such reforms. Through taxing expatriates, China offers them access to a number of things through the social security system such as unemployment insurance, pensions and basic medical cover. The scheme requires that the employer pays a tax of 37 percent of the employees’ salary to the state, while the employee contributes a further 11 percent, although contributions are supposed to be capped at three times the average salary in any city.

The plan to include foreign expatriates in China in the social security taxation scheme was initially announced by the central government in July of 2011, and foreigners were supposed to have commenced paying into the social security scheme in October. However, while the Chinese central government announced the new taxation on expatriates, it is the local authorities who are supposed to be implementing it through the registration of foreigners and a mechanism for how to actually pay into the social security system.

The lack of clarity over how the process should work, as well as the relatively short timeline to put necessary frameworks in place in many localities, has resulted in much confusion all around. Beijing was the only city ready to begin registering foreign workers, and even that has been rumored to be fairly unorganized.

However, two new cities have begun registering foreigners to comply with the new tax law, namely Tianjin and Suzhou. Other large centers of commerce in China, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have so far not begun to implement the new taxes for the social security scheme.

On top of the general bureaucratic chaos, both companies and their foreign employees have great concerns over the new tax and its implications. Many companies are concerned that in a business climate where it is increasingly more expensive to do business in China, the tax on expatriates’ salaries would become a drain on both business growth and foreign investment.

Foreign employees on the other hand are concerned that since much of their rights as workers are linked to their work visas, they will most likely never see the benefits they have been paying for. When expatriates lose or finish their employment in China, they must leave the country, largely rendering the benefits of the social security scheme moot.

Only in December did state media outlet Xinhua cite an unnamed social security official in Beijing as saying that foreigners who leave China will have their pension accounts kept, until they return to the country, retire, or submit a written application to drop the scheme. Although given the fact that this came out three months after people were supposed to have started paying into a scheme which they may or may not see the benefits from, it may only serve to further the sense of confusion surrounding the new taxes. While the social security scheme is similar to many other countries which include both citizens and foreigners, much needs to be done in order to clarify the scheme in order to make it reasonable.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

CIGNA’s China JV Adds New Product to Health Insurance Lineup

Cigna & CMC Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Cigna’s Chinese joint venture company, is adding a new product to its portfolio. The new health management product named Cigna & CMC CARE+ will afford policyholders of Cigna & CMC’s high end health insurance plans access to a number of new services and benefits.

As a joint venture between Cigna and China Merchants Group, Cigna & CMC operates as a health, life and accident insurance company in China. It was announced shortly before the end of 2011 that they would be including the new health management product as a value added service for new clients immediately and that existing clients can avail themselves of Cigna & CMC CARE+ benefits upon renewal.

The Cigna & CMC CARE+ health management product is composed of three tools and services. These are the International Employee Assistance Program (IEAP), Expert Second Opinion services and a health and wellbeing assessment.

The Expert Second Opinions section of Cigna & CMC CARE+ can help clients that have received a serious medical diagnosis by providing them with an online diagnosis analysis as well as treatment recommendations. Cigna & CMC have partnered with the Cleveland Clinic to provide clients access to experts who can provide second opinions and medical advice.

The health and wellbeing assessment offers policyholders access to an online survey which will generate a personal report with suggestions for improving their health in areas such as sleeping, nutrition and stress. After completing the assessment policyholders can receive advice and tools that can help them affect a positive change in their state of health.

The International Employee Assistance Program is one of the services that clients can use to begin improving their circumstances, as it provides confidential short-term counseling services and resources at no additional charge that policyholders can use to help resolve personal issues.

The announcement of the Cigna & CMC CARE+ product came shortly after the company had a new General Manager and CEO appointed in mid-November, 2011, named Mr. Fernando Moreira.  The company currently offers 4 types of health insurance plans, titled jade, silver, gold and platinum, and the addition of the new health and wellbeing tools and services in Cigna & CMC CARE+ enable clients to stay healthy and possibly prevent future health issues.

Cigna & CMC’s Senior Vice President of Healthcare Products, Ken Vaughan, said that “Cigna’s mission is to improve the health, well-being and sense of security for the customers we serve. Building the foundation for health and well-being starts with access to the right tools and services.”

Insurance Companies Mentioned

Cigna

CIGNA Health Insurance is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world.

Cigna & CMC

Cigna & CMC is a joint venture in China, established in 2003 by Cigna and China Merchants Group. The company offers life, accident and health insurance products in China. It was awarded the Best Foreign Life Insurance Company Award in China in 2008 and 2009.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

CIGNA Preparing for Indian Joint Venture

International medical insurance company Cigna is planning on opening a joint venture in India in the next couple of years, creating a partnership with local Indian Conglomerate TTK Group in forming a standalone Indian medical insurance company.

According to the WHO’s World Health Survey 2011, around 74.4 percent of private healthcare costs are paid out of pocket in India. Given that India’s middle class is growing at around 10 percent a year, alongside the historically low penetration of medical insurance products in the country, many analysts believe that the private health insurance industry in India will see robust growth in the near future with a projected compound annual growth rate for the industry of around 30% for the next 5 years.

Cigna is the latest foreign investor to commence the establishment of a standalone medical insurance joint venture in India and also the first American company to do so. Having already started the approval process with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in India, Cigna and TTK intend to complete their filing in 2012 and obtain their license in 2013.

Cigna’s local partner TTK Group is a family-owned conglomerate that has business interests in a wide variety of business sectors, including both durable and nondurable goods, biomedical devices and a wide range of business and healthcare services. Based in Chennai and Bangalore, TTK operates retail locations that are soon thought to number over 1,500 throughout the country which would be a great leg up for Cigna in marketing their health and wellness insurance products across India.

If Cigna can enter the market with a portfolio of health and wellness insurance products and solutions that are inviting to relevant market segments then they stand a good chance of doing well in the largely untapped Indian health insurance market. This would further add to Cigna’s burgeoning international business.

Cigna is currently limited to 26 percent ownership of the joint venture with TKK in accordance with Indian regulations, however should the limit on the stake foreign firms can own in Indian-based companies be raised, Cigna may avail themselves of the opportunity to own a greater share.

Companies Mentioned

Cigna

CIGNA Health Insurance is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world.

TKK Group

Founded in 1928 by T. T. Krishnamachari, TKK is an Indian conglomerate that is largely based out of Chennai and Bangalore. It now runs several businesses in different industries including white goods, pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices, consumer products and assorted business services.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

NHS Trying to Balance Costs and Care

In the midst of enacting QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) policies, Britain’s National Health Service is en route to save £5.9 billion (US$ 9.23 billion) for the 2011-2012 financial year at the same time as some are protesting the effects that the cost-cutting measures will have on vulnerable members of society, and their levels of healthcare.

Britain’s government has been analyzing and implementing a number of ways to shave costs or reshape health services in efforts to streamline the NHS. QIPP efforts are intended to create £20 billion worth of savings, largely through efficiency measures, by 2015. The NHS has already saved some £2.5 billion (US$ 3.9 billion) between April and September 2011, putting them on track for their full yearly savings of £5.9 billion (US$ 9.23 billion) which mostly derives from reduced hospital care expenditure, but does include large savings on community services, mental health services and prescription drugs.

With medical care arising from hospitals services being one of the most expensive items on the healthcare budget and many hospitals facing dire financial straits, the government is attempting to retool the system through the Health Bill so that hospitals are not so heavily relied upon to provide treatment which they may be ill equipped to provide. Intentions are to place General Practitioners at the center of the system and place them in charge of purchasing healthcare services for patients.

However, as belts begin to tighten and proposals to redesign facets of the healthcare system begin to filter through, there are growing concerns from some quarters that the drive to cut costs and the plans to reorganize the health system may result in increased inequalities in the system, with some worried that vulnerable members of society may face great difficulties in procuring care.

One concern raised recently by some public health experts is that the increasing marketisation of the NHS will result in widely varied care throughout the country, resulting in health outcome disparities, especially for vulnerable socio-economic demographics and regions. This may be further exacerbated through pressures to cut costs and save money.

Others are more concerned with the growing need for extensive long term care for the elderly and disabled. At least half of the 2009-2010 healthcare budget was devoted to caring for older UK citizens, however this number is going to grow as the population continues to age. An earlier proposal, spearheaded by economist Andrew Dilnot, indicated that it was more effective and efficient, in terms of both cost and health outcomes, to treat older people through social care rather than acute healthcare in hospitals.

However, the proposed change would require greater funding for social care and financial assistance for older age patients. Dilnot’s proposal suggested raising the level of means-tested support and the introduction of a lifetime cap on how much money each individual would have to spend on adult social care, with the government picking up any extra costs over £35,000 (US$ 54,801); this would prevent the elderly from having to sell most of their possessions to pay for ongoing social care. However, while this proposal does dovetail nicely with the plan to reduce hospital services and spending, it does require a potentially greater outlay from the government on social care which may garner a more tepid response from politicians and treasury officials focused on austerity measures.

With a diverse group of parties touting the benefits of different courses of action, the issue may become increasingly contentious as the Health Bill comes closer to being fully enacted. However, with an increasingly sizable healthcare budget and growing economic uncertainties, it seems like not committing to some type of reform is one of the only unavailable options.

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Austerity Efforts in Europe Putting Pressure on Health Services

As financial concerns continue to affect the Eurozone, many countries have been forced to make efforts in reducing state spending which is leading to the cutting back of benefits, such as national healthcare programs.

In the EU, countries ranging from the more powerful such as the UK and Germany, to countries such as Slovakia and Hungary are facing falling or stagnating budgets, in many cases as a result of the European debt crisis. Various countries have been impacted differently, with some managing to put of drastic changes to services with timely reforms and others seeing rising wait times for procedures.

Slovakia and other ex-communist eastern European countries have been hard hit, with the pressure to cut costs keeping salaries low for doctors and medical professionals in the countries. This has resulted in brain drain over the long term, but more recently has lead to around 1,600 medical personnel resigning in Slovakia. While some doctors have agreed to return to work after the government offered a 40 percent raise in salary, many have not, and other doctors in nearby countries with similar problems may follow suit. Many Slovakians have been left without treatment, prompting the Czech Republic to send 30 army doctors in to assist, while Austrian and Polish hospitals are preparing to accept Slovakian patients.

Countries like Germany or the UK face different problems to those faced in Slovakia, however budget cuts to established healthcare systems in these countries, coupled with shifting demographics are stretching these national healthcare systems thin. In 2010, Germany reformed its health insurance system, increasing the contributions for workers and their employers while also adding controls for the price of pharmaceuticals. This has worked to some degree, reducing the programs budget shortfalls, but as the population continues to age and the workforce shrinks as is being seen in many developed countries, the amount of money spent on drugs and outpatient care will continue to grow in the future.

The UK National Health Service (NHS) is seeing cracks in the system as the result of budget reductions alongside growing health outlays. Lines for surgeries are increasing in length in the UK, while a growing number of NHS hospitals are in dire enough financial condition that they could be required to merge with other hospitals which may result in loss of services or reduced access to quality healthcare in some localities.

Britain has previously experienced a rising uptake of private medical insurance plans when the NHS was not highly considered, due to people wanting to ensure they have access to quality medical care. However with unemployment in the UK reaching a 17 year high at 8.3 percent, people may have to consider whether paying for healthcare through private health insurance or out of pocket spending is more cost effective for them.

Citizens or even resident expatriates in countries with developed healthcare systems and high quality medical facilities may find it easier to pay for treatment as needed, in some cases. Although there are many places and people in the world for which paying for private care out-of-pocket may work, in many instances it simply would not be appropriate.

Paying your own way for hospitals treatments requires firstly that you have enough money saved up to pay for any treatments, and secondly that you are knowledgeable about the hospital and its capability in the required treatment. This is not always possibly, especially for expatriates or business people who travel frequently to numerous countries. Paying your own way also may not be a feasible option for expats located in places like Africa or elsewhere where the hospitals or medical facilities may not be of a high quality, necessitating a medical evacuation. This can be prohibitively expensive.

Thankfully many international insurance providers have been paying attention to developing trends and many have been reevaluating their products and services in response. Insurance companies such as Medicare International and Allianz Worldwide Care are developing cost effective international health insurance payment plans and services, offering customers plans with high benefits and variable premium structures that can appeal to a wide range of international customers on a broad spectrum of budgets.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Cost of Care Rising as Insurers Trying to Provide Value for Money

As medical services grow more and more costly around the world, international private medical insurance providers are trying to ensure that their policies provide good value for money while maintaining high levels of benefits.

In many countries, including such places as the US and the UK, the cost of medical services has been rising throughout recent years. In the US, the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite index showed an annual growth rate of 5.11 percent for the fiscal year that ended in October, outstripping the 4.74 annual growth rate reported in September by a significant margin. S&P’s Healthcare Commercial Index, which takes into account only healthcare costs covered by commercial insurance, saw its fourth consecutive month of rising annual growth rates to arrive at 6.91 percent for the year ended October.

Across the pond in the UK, there are similar stories with healthcare company Bupa releasing a study that predicts the costs of cancer treatment will rise steadily in the future. The report Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: A 2021 Perspective was aimed at trying to make predictions about the cost of treating cancer over the next 10 years. The results estimated that the cost of treating cancer will rise by approximately 62 percent, meaning that while cancer treatment for someone in 2010 may cost on average around £30,000 (US$46,487), it will cost £40,000 (US$62,007) on average by 2021.

With premium costs over the last decade being pushed up by almost 10 percent a year due to medical inflation, insurers globally are recognizing that while everyone may like policies with extraordinary benefits, cost is a point of consideration for many. As 2011 comes to an end, some international health insurance companies are beginning to introduce changes to services or flexibilities to payment structure and cost-sharing to ensure that customers get value for money while maintaining high levels of benefits.

International private medical insurance provider, MediCare International, has introduced new excess structures that clients may select if they so choose that give policy discounts of up to 50 percent. The new options allow for four levels of excesses, offering discounts that range from 10 percent, 20 percent, 35 percent and all the way to 50 percent depending on the selected size of co-payment.

Another company that is reevaluating their products is Allianz Worldwide Care, which has revealed that it is trailing a new system of medical evacuation. Typically, if a policyholder finds themselves in a situation which necessitates medical evacuation, they are put on an air ambulance and either transferred back to their home country, or to the nearest center of medical excellence, depending on the particulars of the policy. The new option for transport will transport medically stable policyholders on commercial flights while they are accompanied by one of Allianz’s own doctors.

Allianz Wordlwide Care’s Medical Director, Dr. Ulriche Sucher, explained that “Many of our corporate clients have employees working in remote regions within Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, where sparse medical facilities means a greater reliance on evacuation services following a medical emergency. Plus, advancements in medical treatments and medical specialism in specific countries means that sometimes patients need to be brought to another country to receive the care that they need. Added to this is the increase in natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes and floods which can result in people needing medical treatment at a time when the closest medical facilities may have been damaged,”

While air ambulances will still be used in cases where the policyholder is in an emergency situation which requires emergency evacuation to the nearest quality medical facility, the new medical escort service is expected to bring large cost savings with it, especially for large corporate clients. The service is expected to be introduced after a 12 month trial proves successful.

Companies Mentioned

Allianz

Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With a worldwide network of 153,000 employees, the Allianz Group serves 75 million customers in over 70 countries. Allianz offers a wide variety of insurance products to both private and corporate customers, including motor, accident, general liability, fire and property, legal expenses, credit and travel insurance. Allianz provides life and health insurance products on individual and group basis. Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence in insurance.

MediCare International

With 25 years of providing expatriates top quality international health insurance, Medicare International has grown by ensuring quick and easy access to their services 24 hours a day. The company currently covers clients from 86 nationalities in 114 countries around the world.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

India May Soon Let Insurers Form Subsidiaries & JVs Overseas

Indian insurance regulator IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) is currently drafting guidelines which would allow Indian insurance and reinsurance companies to open branch offices, subsidiaries or joint-ventures overseas.

IRDA is currently circulating preliminary draft guidelines on what would be required of Indian insurance companies in order to allow them to open operations overseas. As the drafts circulate among domestic insurance companies, IRDA is asking for feedback from insurance companies before the end of 2012.

Many of the preliminary guidelines appear to be aimed at ensuring that domestic Indian insurance companies seeking to commence overseas operations are on solid financial footing to do so, and that doing so would not pose risks to local business and policyholders. As it stands now, domestic Indian insurance companies are not permitted to expand overseas, either through branch offices or investment in foreign firms, while foreign companies can currently own stakes in domestic insurers of up to 26 percent.

The draft allows for insurance companies of any category to apply to the regulator for permission to open foreign businesses after the insurers have been in operation domestically for 10 years. The proposed regulation would allow domestic insurers to start a foreign operation in a number of ways, either by opening branch offices, the formation of foreign subsidiaries by controlling the board or owning 50 percent of the paid-up equity capital, or by starting a foreign joint venture.

While many insurance companies in India have joined with foreign insurers to make joint ventures, any company that a domestic Indian insurer engaged with overseas to create a joint venture outside of India would not be allowed to enter into the domestic Indian insurance market.

Although there is a drive to make certain that Indian companies wishing to start operations abroad will have the financial wherewithal to do so without putting domestic business at risk, there are no concrete financial guidelines at the moment, whether with regards to the minimum net worth necessary to apply to the regulator for authorization or the capital requirements for establishing joint-venture’s overseas. However, the guidelines do mandate any losses incurred or capital requirements that must be met by foreign branches must be paid for by shareholder funds only, so as not to interfere with the policyholders’ funds in the domestic Indian business.

This could open a doorway to many opportunities for Indian insurance companies to globalize their business. In many places such as countries in the Middle East, there is a sizable Indian Diaspora which some insurers may already be considering tapping in to, however the opening of an office would also allow them to underwrite local business as well as expatriate Indians.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Maldives Enlists Allied Insurance for Universal Health Insurance

The Maldivian government will move forward on plans to engage in a public private partnership with Allied Insurance to provide universal health insurance in the island nation.

The government had previously invited insurance companies to draw up plans for providing universal health insurance for the island and submit them to be considered for the partner position. The Maldivian Finance Ministry made the announcement that it was looking for private sector insurers to partner with in late October, prompting Sri Lanka Insurance, Amana Takaful and Allied Insurance to apply.

More recently, the Finance Ministry has announced that it will be partnering with Allied Insurance to provide universal health insurance to the populace, as it was the only company to finish the letter of expression.

The proposed system for the universal health insurance program is designed to be split 40/60, with the government holding 40 percent ownership in the scheme and the private insurance company, in this case Allied Insurance, holding the remaining 60 percent. The system is supposed to provide a wide array of benefits, including emergency treatments, both inpatient and outpatient treatment, prescribed medicines, therapeutic treatments and emergency evacuations within the Maldives. Also to be included will be overseas cover for any treatments that are not available locally.

In fulfilling its roll as the private sector partner, Allied Insurance will be handling billing from healthcare providers, processing claims and raising public awareness. The Maldivian government will pay the premium. The ministry’s Director General Saami Ageel said that they were still negotiating the costs of the insurance plan with Allied.

There is still much debate surrounding the implementation of the universal health insurance plan, and many things may change before the scheme gets underway. MPs are debating the 100 or so amendments that have been proposed, many of which could have a fundamental impact on how the scheme operates.

As the bill currently stands, workers are required to contribute 3.5 percent of their salaries towards the universal health insurance scheme, however, some MPs have already called for the scheme to be compulsory for both locals and expatriates in the Maldives. Other MPs have submitted amendments that would alter the amount of money contributed by the worker and others that would require the employer to contribute as well. Another proposed amendment would see the government pay all costs to cover the entire country under the scheme and do so through money raised by a tax on tobacco products.

There are reports that the universal health insurance scheme is supposed to begin being implemented in January of 2012, however this may depend largely on the content and number of amendments that have been proposed to the universal health insurance bill as more material changes to the proposed system may delay the start date.

Company Mentioned

Allied Insurance Company

The Allied Insurance Company was founded as a joint-venture between the Maldives’ State Trading Organization and the Commercial Union Assurance Company of the UK in 1985. In 1987 the STO bought back all shares from Commercial union Assurance and Allied Insurance now offers a wide range of general insurance products and life insurance in the Maldives.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Aviva Setting Up Locally Compliant UAE International Health Insurance

UK-based Aviva is moving to build a network in the United Arab Emirates to provide international health insurance products to expatriates situated on the Arabian Peninsula.

Many countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are facing rising costs of healthcare, often due to a rising number of instances of lifestyle related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Abu-Dhabi alone spends approximately AED1 billion (US$272 million) every year on healthcare costs associated with treating young diabetics at risk of suffering heart disease in the future.

Abu Dhabi is not alone in this, with GCC compatriot Saudi Arabia having similar problems. The rise of sedentary lifestyles in the region has pushed the levels of obesity up alongside diabetes and related diseases. As many countries in the GCC pay for a large proportion of healthcare in their countries, this rising tide of costly chronic and lifestyle-related health problems is becoming an increasingly large problem.

The GCC healthcare market is expected to grow by approximately 11 percent a year, from an estimated AED94 billion (US$25.6 billion) in 2010 to AED161 billion (US$43.9 billion) in 2015. Given that much of this expenditure on healthcare is paid for by governments, many in the region are looking at health measures to ameliorate the trend lifestyle diseases, as well as possible health insurance mandates.

Abu Dhabi has led the way in this regard, initially requiring mandatory health insurance policies originally for expatriates to get a visa, and later expanding that program to the point where mandatory health insurance is now a requirement for most citizens and residents in the country. While other countries in the region may be debating similar requirements, some health insurance companies are working proactively to provide products that offer customers quality products while fulfilling any governmental health insurance requirements.

International health insurance company Aviva has recently been working with Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Insurance Company to build up a UAE health insurance network. Their efforts have paid off, resulting in the creation of Emirates’ International Solutions product line, a group of 4 benefit plans designed especially for the UAE region which will be available after March 1^st, 2012.

In being designed for the local region, international health insurance products that are to be available from Aviva will comply with local regulation. This means that any expats who live in Abu Dhabi will be able to take out one of the Emirates’ International Solutions products and have it satisfy the visa requirement for compulsory local insurance, allowing them to simply have one plan to cover them in Abu Dhabi and internationally.

In commenting on the recent news, the International Business Lead for Aviva, UK Health, Teresa Rogers noted that “Offering health provision in the UAE is complex due to different legislative requirements across each of the Emirates. We’ve worked with a specialist international law firm to help us develop bespoke solutions for our customers based in the UAE and we believe that our four products will enable us to respond to changes in legislation and customer needs both now and in the future.”

Company Mentioned

Aviva

Europe’s fourth largest insurance company, with more than 300 years of experience in the global insurance industry, Aviva is committed to the safety and satisfaction of its customers. They sell a broad range of insurance products including motor and property insurance, protection and health insurance, business insurance, life insurance and pensions.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

India Insurance Sectors to Continue Growth, Alongside Emerging Asia

A recent forecast report by Swiss Re predicts that both life and non-life insurance lines in India, and indeed in many emerging economies, will see larger growth coming into 2012.

With the global economy poised to grow at only 2.9 percent, Clarence Wong, the Chief Economist Asia for Swiss Re sees three hurdles that insurers globally will have to overcome, namely the Euro debt crisis, emerging markets experiencing slower growth and greater inflation, and low government yields due to the prevailing economic climate.

However, Wong also sees India and other emerging markets in Asia outperforming developed markets. Wong says that “Emerging Asia is not decoupled from the developed economies and its growth is expected to slow while inflation is elevated. But policymakers have leeway to leverage monetary and fiscal policies to counter economic slowdown.”

While non-life insurance business in India seems to have performed well in 2011, growing 8.6 percent, the life insurance industry saw new business only grow by 2.5 percent for the year. This is largely seen as attributable to regulations from India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), which were promulgated in September, 2010.

The regulations mandated that life insurance companies had to offer a capital guarantee on pension products as well as reducing the commission on unit-linked insurance products (Ulips), causing the Indian life insurance market to decline significantly. However, many see this as a good sign insofar as that it has pushed insurers and agents to reevaluate their business and products, leading to more cost-effective operations and investments.

Despite the steep decline in life insurance sales over the past year or two, Wong sees economic indicators pushing towards higher growth for life insurers in 2012. In expectation of slower economies and higher unemployment, life insurance premiums are forecast to rise by 4.5 percent across the Asia-Pacific region, while rising economic risks will whet appetites for more routine protection products. This could lead to an increase in life insurance premiums in India by 7.5 percent next year.

While non-life remained strong in 2011, the Swiss Re forecast expects the industry to slow slightly in 2012, coming down to 7.9 percent from 8.6 percent this year. This is somewhat expected, given the slowing economies in many countries around the world. However, many observers believe India’s non-life insurance sector will continue to outperform many developed economies based on continued desire for motor and health insurance products. Motor sales in India have been booming recently and the IRDA’s ruling that allowed health insurance portability between insurers makes the landscape more customer friendly.

According to Swiss Re, the rest of emerging economies in Asia are largely predicted to see strong growth in both life and general insurance industries over the next few years. Life insurance across emerging Asia is estimated to grow by a cumulative 9.5 percent in 2012, with China, Vietnam and Indonesia leading the way with 11 percent, 8.6 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.

Non-life insurance industries across emerging Asian economies are forecast to grow by a cumulative 10.6 percent in 2012, mostly due growing demand for personal accident and health insurance as well as an increasing number of car owners across the region. China Vietnam and India are expected to grow the most next year at 12 percent, 9.2 percent and 7.9 percent respectively.

The long term conclusions of the Swiss Re forecast largely mirror a Bricdata report earlier this month, with both having confidence that as economies start to normalize globally in 2012 and 2013, it will provide a solid macroeconomic background for further insurance growth and improved performance from investments.

Company Mentioned

Swiss Re

The Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd was established in 1863 and is present in more than 20 countries. Swiss Re provides reinsurance products and financial service solutions. It offers various reinsurance products covering property, casualty, life and health insurance as well as special lines such as agricultural, aviation, space, engineering, HMO reinsurance, marine, nuclear energy, and special risks.