Aug
19
Manulife Life Japan Changes Strategy to Tap Market
Filed Under Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, Medical Insurance | 5 Comments
Manulife Life Insurance Co. plans to launch newly developed products, supported by a diversified distribution strategy to match the changing dynamics of the mature insurance market in Japan. The ageing population and weak stock market are perceived by Manulife as having potential for offering life insurance products, which are backed up by the ability to create protection for wealth management and long-term savings.
Ageing populations tend to have an increased demand for insurance products that can accumulate, preserve and transfer wealth. The current economic, socio-economic and demographic trends present in Japan present new opportunities to the life insurance sector.
For the past two decades, the Japanese stock market has had a low performance and the interest rates remained close to zero during the past 10 years. Consumers in Japan have been turning towards fixed and variable yield annuities supported by an underlying guarantee as an alternative form of investment. Likewise, consumers are buying medical insurance as the means to satisfy the ever growing need for healthcare.
Manulife Japan is a subsidiary of Canada-based Manulife Life Financial Group. Their strategy for the future is to provide a wider diversity of insurance products through multiple sales channels, which will complement the recently launched foreign-denominated fixed annuities offered to the financial institutions.
According to recent reports, Bancassurance in Japan shares the vision of Manulife and foresees significant opportunities ahead, due to the steady shift in focus of banks and security firms towards a more diversified range of products, departing from the tradition of primarily offering variable annuities.
Towards the end of last month Manulife Japan launched a new annuity product { http://www.globalsurance.com/blog/new-annuity-product-launched-by-manulife-in-japan-153220.html }, at a time when fixed annuity products denominated in yen and other foreign currencies continue having a positive reception. Although declining in comparison to previous years, the number of life insurance companies offering variable annuities continue offering their products to the Japanese market.
Manulife Japan was established in 1999. They now operate through approximately 120 local sales offices and eight regional offices with more than 3,000 tied agents. Back in the year 2002 Manulife Japan started to offer over-the-counter sales of individual annuity products through financial institutions, followed by the sale of insurance products in 2009. At present, the company has sales alliances with more than 40 banks and securities firms.
Insurance Company mentioned:
Manulife Life Insurance Company, Japan. Manulife Financial was one of the first foreign life insurance companies to establish operations in Japan, entering the market in 1901. Manulife re-entered Japan in 1999, laying the foundation for the establishment of Manulife Life Insurance Company (Manulife Japan). The vision of Manulife Japan is to be the most professional life insurance company in Japan, providing leading financial protection and wealth management products and services, and learning from and quickly adapting to its customers‟ changing needs.
Aug
18
Bajaj Allianz Star Package Covers Multiple Risks in One Policy
Filed Under Allianz, Health Insurance, Income Protection, Life Insurance, Medical Insurance, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
India-based joint-venture Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company has launched a new policy dubbed the Star Package Policy, which provides modular coverage of up to eight separate risks, ranging from health insurance coverage to home contents insurance.
Star Package provides eight coverage options which are a mix of health insurance, life insurance and general insurance risks. The policy options are incredibly flexible, offering a variety of choices in sums insured for each policy module, as well as family floaters and further options depending on the policy module. The policy requires that a minimum of three coverage options be selected when the policy is taken out. The eight coverage options are: hospital cash, health guard, critical illness, personal accident, education grant, householders contents, traveling baggage, and public liability.
The hospital cash section provides fixed cash benefits to the policy holder for every day someone covered under the policy is hospitalized for up to 30 days, relative to the sum insured. The health guard option offers cashless benefits and reimbursement for medical treatment at hospitals within Bajaj Allianz’s network, with additional options such as organ transplant cover, and medical evacuation, reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy cover.
Critical illness cover pays a lump sum benefit should the insured be diagnosed with a critical illness, subject to the conditions of the policy. The personal accident module provides coverage for the death, permanent total disability (PTD), permanent partial disability (PPD), and temporary total disability (TTD) of the policy holder, paying sums based on the sum insured as well as providing reimbursement of up to 40% of medical expenses incurred.
The education grant section pays the sum insured towards the continuing costs of education for the policyholder’s child or children in the event of the policyholder’s death or permanent total disability. The householder contents module functions the same as first loss basis coverage under Bajaj Allianz’s Standard Fire policy (including earthquakes).
The traveling baggage option pays the policyholder in respect of lost baggage while on tour or holiday. The last module, public liability, protects the insured’s legal liability for bodily injury or damage to the property of third parties.
As mentioned earlier, many of the policy sections offer family floaters, whereby spouses or children can be covered under that policy section for an additional premium. The policy does come with a number of premium discounts as well; with a minimum of 3 options selected, signing up for 4-5 policy sections gets a 10% discount, while opting for 6-8 of the policy sections receives a 15% discount on the premium. Bajaj Allianz also offers long term policy discounts with a 10% discount for 2 years and 15% for 3 years.
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company
Established in early 2001, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint-venture company between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE, whereby Bajaj Finserv holds a 74% stake, with Allianz SE holding the remaining 26%. Bajaj Allianz has a network spanning over 200 towns across India and has a paid up capital of INR 1.1 billion (USD 23.6 million).
Aug
11
Aviva Profits Up as Aviva and RBS Sign New Life Insurance Distribution Deal
Filed Under Aviva, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, United Kingdom | 4 Comments
International insurance company, Aviva, has recorded a 21 percent increase in operating profits in the first half of 2010. Aviva is also in the midst of discussing significant structural changes to their profit sharing joint-venture with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which comes shortly after their deal to be the exclusive provider of life protection insurance products with Santander in the UK.
Aviva recorded IFRS operating profits of GBP 1.27 billion (USD 2 billion) for the first half of the fiscal year, showing a 21 percent increase over the same time last year. Aviva also generated net operating capital of GBP 900 million (USD 1.42 billion), which brings the company a long ways towards its revised target of GBP 1.5 billion (USD 2.37 billion) for the year.
Aviva is also in discussions over the future of their joint-venture with RBS, which comes close on the heels of Aviva’s signed deal to be the sole provider of protection and life insurance products to Santander in the UK.
Aviva’s joint-venture with RBS in the UK has been running for about 10 years and was previously set up so that profits from the sale and distribution of the life insurance products was shared equally between the two entities. The preliminary terms would see Aviva engineer life protection insurance products, which RBS would then distribute, keeping the profit. However, negotiations between the two are expected to continue through the second half of the year, with the joint-venture being wound down by the end of 2010.
Earlier in August, Aviva signed a five year distribution deal with Santander over life insurance products in the UK, expanding upon the preexisting relationship between Aviva and Santander in the general insurance sector. It will see Santander offering Aviva’s life insurance products exclusively through its bancassurance channels which include 1,300 branches in the UK, as well as telephone and internet banking. The deal will come into effect from June 2011.
The Chief Executive of Aviva’s UK business, Mark Hodges said “As Britain’s leading insurer, our strength lies in the breadth and quality of our product portfolio across both general and life insurance and I’m delighted that Santander’s customers will benefit from this. Our new distribution agreement will build on our solid existing general insurance relationship with Santander, creating a platform for significant growth across our UK business.”
Insurance Companies 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.
Jul
27
New Annuity Product Launched by Manulife in Japan
Filed Under Income Protection, Insurance Company | 4 Comments
Manulife Life Insurance Company (Manulife Japan) has recently launched a new variable individual annuity insurance type V product which will be sold through the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The name of the new product is Ashita-no-Nenkin and it is an investment-type annuity insurance product, tailored to meet the needs of customers wanting to start accumulate funds in preparation for retirement.
According to Manulife Japan the appealing characteristics of this new product include features that are easy to understand, and a death benefit guarantee that the beneficiary of the policy will receive no less than 100% of the basic benefit amount. As such, the new product being offered by Manulife is a Japan-specific variant of traditional whole-of-life insurance plans.
With this new insurance product, customers may choose to opt for either a 'step-down life annuity' or a 'fixed-term annuity' taking into consideration their plans for retirement, plus the provision of a minimum guarantee of the total amount that the customer is likely to receive.
Customers can opt to start receiving annuity payments as early one year after commencing the plan, or they may choose the length of the payment deferral period.
Manulife Japan is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial, the financial services group based in Canada. In addition to asset management services, Manulife Financial also provides reinsurance solutions specialising in life and property and casualty retro-cession, as well as financial protection and wealth management products and services.
Insurance Company mentioned:
Manulife Life Insurance Company, Japan. Manulife Financial was one of the first foreign life insurance companies to establish operations in Japan, entering the market in 1901. Manulife re-entered Japan in 1999, laying the foundation for the establishment of Manulife Life Insurance Company (Manulife Japan). The vision of Manulife Japan is to be the most professional life insurance company in Japan, providing leading financial protection and wealth management products and services, and learning from and quickly adapting to its customers‟ changing needs.
Jul
7
Standard Chartered Agrees to Sell Allianz Takaful Insurance Products in Qatar
Filed Under Allianz, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, Middle East | 3 Comments
Furthering their strategic alliance in the Middle East, Standard Chartered and Allianz Takaful have signed a five year agreement to sell Allianz Takaful’s insurance products through Standard Chartered Bank in Qatar.
In April this year, the two companies came to an agreement over selling Standard Chartered SME business insurance products through Allianz Takaful in Bahrain, and the new deal in Qatar serves to strengthen ties between the two regional allies. The five-year agreement will see Standard Chartered Bank promoting and selling Allianz Takaful life insurance products through their Bancassurance distributions channels.
The Allianz Takaful products which are now available throughout Standard Chartered’s branches in Qatar include protection plans, investment and savings plans, as well as child education insurance. The Chairman of Allianz Takaful, Abdulrahman Khalil Tolefat, said that “Customers can avail the services at Standard Chartered Bank’s relationship managers to tailor make Allianz Takaful products to suit their specific insurance requirements.”
Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Qatar, David Godwin said “Allianz is a major global financial services provider and we are pleased to associate with the group’s subsidiary in the Middle East. By working in collaboration with third party expertise, we are able to broaden our portfolio of products with a best-in-class offer to address the whole range of our customers’ financial well-being objectives. Additionally, the general insurance services fit well as one of the wealth protection tools that complement the bank’s overall wealth management solutions.”
Companies Mentioned:
Allianz Takaful
A fully owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group, Allianz Takaful was established in March 2009 and is headquartered in Bahrain. Allianz Takaful is the Allianz group’s first foray into the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, and offers Shariah-compliant products and services.
Standard Chartered Bank Qatar
Standard Chartered Bank first opened a branch office in Qatar in 1950, making it the oldest foreign bank in Qatar. It operates 3 branches and 6 ATM machines in the country, employing 167 employees from 30 different countries. Their two core divisions of Wholesale and Consumer Banking have given them a 27% market share in Qatar.
Jun
18
Chinese Insurance Companies continue growth in 2010
Filed Under China, China insurance, Health Insurance, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | 1 Comment
Three of China’s largest insurance companies continue their strong growth in the first five months of 2010. China Life Insurance (CLI), Ping An Insurance Group of China (PAIGC), and China Pacific Insurance Corporation (CPIC) maintain year-on-year growth in gross written premiums.
China Life Insurance (CLI) reported total premiums of RMB 154.9 billion (US$ 22.7 billion), which is a 6.39% increase over the RMB 145.6 billion (US$ 21.3 billion) in premiums received during the same time period in 2009. China Pacific Insurance Corporation (CPIC) reported earning RMB 64.2 billion (US$ 9.4 billion) in premiums received between January and May in 2010.
Ping An Insurance Group of China (PAIGC) is reporting that it has brought in RMB 104.51 billion (US$ 15.3 billion) in unaudited insurance premiums during the first five months of the year, a 35.76% increase from the same time period last year. Ping An’s Chinese life insurance division, Ping An Life Insurance Co of China Ltd, earned RMB 77.72 billion (US$ 11.4 billion) in premiums, up 26.17% over the corresponding period from 2009.
Ping An also reported income in their casualty insurance unit of RMB 24.74 billion (US$ 3.6 billion) worth of premiums, as well as RMB 64.38 million in premiums from its China health insurance unit, and RMB 1.99 billion (US$ 290 million) in premiums from their annuities insurance subsidiary.
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
China Life Insurance
China Life Insurance Company Limited (China Life) is a People’s Republic of China-based life insurance company. The products and services include individual life insurance, group life insurance, accident and health insurance. The Company operates in four business segments: individual life insurance business, group life insurance business, short-term insurance business, and corporate and other business.
Ping An Insurance
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (Ping An) is engaged in providing a range of financial products and services. The Company focuses on three businesses: insurance, banking and investment. The Company operates in five business segments: life insurance business, property and casualty insurance business, banking business, securities business, corporate and other businesses. The Company’s subsidiaries include Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (Ping An Life), Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (Ping An Property & Casualty), China Ping An Trust & Investment Co., Ltd. (Ping An Trust), Ping An Securities Company, Ltd. (Ping An Securities), Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. (Ping An Bank), Ping An Annuity Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (Ping An Annuity) and Ping An Health Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (Ping An Health), among others.
China Pacific Insurance
China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. (CPIC) was established on the basis of China Pacific Insurance Co., Ltd., which was founded on May 13, 1991. Headquartered in Shanghai, its registered capital stands at RMB 7.7 billion. The company was listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange on Dec. 25, 2007, with the stock code of 601601 and the stock name of “ China Pacific”. The Company was listed in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on Dec. 23, 2009, with the stock code “02601” and the stock name of “CPIC”.
Jun
17
Zurich enters Indonesian Life Insurance market
Filed Under Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | 1 Comment
Zurich Financial Services Group subsidiary, Zurich Insurance Co., has bought a majority stake in Indonesian life insurance company, PT Mayapada Life.
Zurich Insurance has agreed to buy an 80% stake in Mayapada Life from its parent company, Mayapada Group, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approval.
Mayapada Life had gross written premiums of USD 1.7 million in 2009; its purchase by Zurich gives the Swiss company a platform in the Indonesian life insurance market from which it can expand by offering savings and protection products to the growing population.
In order to ensure that they can immediately avail themselves of bancassurance distribution channels in Indonesia, Zurich has arranged a long term distribution agreement with PT Bank Mayapada International Tbk (Mayapada Bank).
Zurich’s CEO of Global Life, Mario Greco, said that “The acquisition of Mayapada Life is a first step in Zurich Life’s expansion plans in Indonesia. It underpins our commitment to developing the market in Indonesia and our strategy of providing protection and saving products to the rapidly growing number of the population with such needs. The Mayapada Group will be a strong local partner as we seek to build key relationships to grow our business in the Asia Pacific region.”
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Zurich Financial Services Group is an insurance-based financial services provider with a workforce of approximately 60,000 people. The company was founded in 1872, and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. They currently serve their customers in more than 170 countries around the globe, with aims of becoming one of the top five global insurers.
Jun
7
How much to Insure the World Cup? According to Lloyd’s, GBP 6.2 billion
Filed Under Africa, Health Insurance, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, Medical Insurance | Leave a Comment
Lloyd’s of London has estimated that more than GBP 6.2 billion (USD 9 billion) in insurance policies have been taken out to protect against various risks involved with the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The GBP 6.2 billion (USD 9 billion) estimate was divided into three categories; property insurance, contingency insurance and liability insurance, although absent from the estimates were the value of insurance policies for individual football players (inclusive of health insurance, life insurance and income protection plans). Many organizations and companies involved with the World Cup have taken out insurance policies, ranging from FIFA, the worldwide governing body of football, participating businesses and sponsors as well as broadcasters and national teams.
The underwriters say that GBP 3.2 billion (USD 4.7 billion) worth of property insurance has been taken out on the various stadiums and training venues that will play home to the World Cup action, while contingency related insurance worth approximately GBP 3 billion (USD 4.4 billion) has also been purchased. A further GBP 200 million (USD 291.5 million) in liability insurance has also been purchased.
Both property and liability insurance for the world cup are fairly straight forward, involving insuring the risk of damage to property for the former and insuring against the risk someone hurts themselves on or with the property for the latter. Contingency insurance in this case is basically set up to cover groups with a financial investment in the World Cup against unforeseen circumstances. Contingency insurance may include covering risks for businesses running competitions or offering prizes if a certain team wins and broadcasters, in the event of any delays in programming causing conflict with their scheduled advertising.
Llyod’s points out that insurance policies covering players for injury or disability have been left out of their estimates, as illness and injury insurance for each member in a team would be different and may or may not include insurance on a famous football player’s brand recognition and insurance for lost earnings of player and the clubs they usually play for.
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Lloyd’s of London
Lloyd’s is the world’s leading specialist insurance market and occupies fifth place in terms of global reinsurance premium income, and is the second largest surplus lines insurer in the US. In 2009, 74 syndicates are underwriting insurance at Lloyd’s, covering all classes of business from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Lloyd’s is regulated by the Financial Service Authority.
May
24
Lloyd’s gets direct insurance license in China
Filed Under China, China insurance, Health Insurance, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | 6 Comments
Lloyd’s China has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to broaden its business activities, including a license with which to write direct insurance policies.
Prior to obtaining approval for engaging in direct insurance business, Lloyd’s was limited to reinsurance through Lloyd’s Reinsurance Company (China). The new license allows Lloyd’s to expand beyond their current business of providing product solutions and increasing business capacity through their reinsurance products into products which may become available for brokers to sell to consumers.
The news was announced by the Lord Peter Levene, the Chairman of Lloyd’s at the UK Pavilion in the World Expo in Shanghai, who said that “This is a very significant development for both Lloyd’s and the Chinese insurance market. We are most grateful to the CIRC for their help and to the Shanghai Municipal Government. This will be a further important building block in the development of Shanghai as a major international financial and maritime centre.”
Lloyd’s is not the only foreign reinsurer to see growth in China recently, as Scor SE received a composite insurance license in April from the CIRC which allows it to expand its reinsurance business to encompass life and health insurance in addition to their non-life business offerings.
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
Lloyd’s is the world’s leading specialist insurance market and occupies fifth place in terms of global reinsurance premium income, and is the second largest surplus lines insurer in the US. In 2009, 74 syndicates are underwriting insurance at Lloyd’s, covering all classes of business from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Lloyd’s is regulated by the Financial Service Authority.
SCOR is now a multinational Group, born from the merger between the SCOR Group, with its strong presence in France and the United States, Revios, which was based in Cologne, and Converium, whose headquarters were in Zurich. The new SCOR group had to take this polycentric situation into consideration in terms of its organisational structure, in order to align this with the diverse cultural practices attached to the three former companies. The Group also had to factor in the details of its 2007 statutory reorganisation around three Societas Europeae in paris, as well as the fact that SCOR Global Investments, the Group’s third operating company, was created at the beginning of 2009 and is also adopting Societas Europaea status. SCOR therefore decided to structure its entities around six life and non-life management platforms or Hubs, attached to which are the subsidiaries and branches of the geographic area in question.
May
19
BNP Paribas Expands into Taiwanese Life Insurance market
Filed Under China insurance, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | 1 Comment
Despite numerous foreign life insurance companies having left Taiwan in 2009, French financial services company, BNP Paribas, sees potential for growth in the mature Taiwanese life insurance markets with its bancassurance partnership with Taiwan Cooperative Bank.
BNP Paribas initiated a life insurance joint venture company in April 2010, with the nation’s largest provider of housing loans, Taiwan Cooperative Bank to sell a diverse selection of life insurance products. The joint venture, named BNP Paribas Assurance TCB Life Insurance Co. is structured on the bancassurance model and will use Taiwan Cooperative Bank’s distribution channels, including almost 300 bank branches, to better reach customers. BNP Paribas controls a 49% stake in BNP Paribas Assurance TCB Life Insurance Co., while Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) owns the remaining 51% of the joint venture.
The bancassurance model has been Taiwan’s greatest distribution channel in terms of enrolling new life insurance customers because of its ability to combine the strengths of deposit banking with asset management, with over 68.36% of all new life insurance premiums coming through bancassurance channels. BNP hopes to piggy back off of Taiwan Cooperative Bank’s 6-million strong client base, making the joint venture an easy platform from which to offer a variety of life insurance products, including wealth management and credit insurance to bank customers.
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
BNP Paribas Assurance is the property & casualty and life insurance branch of BNP Paribas, its products are marketed inside France through retail branches under the BNP brand name and branded outside of French retail business and internationally as Cardif. BNP Paribas Assurance is the 4th largest life insurance company in France and has operations in more than 40 other countries. The company had EU18 billion in written premiums in 2007 and has 7,000 employs working around the globe.
Established in October 1946, the Taiwan Cooperative Bank reorganized and then went public in 2001. In 2006 the Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) merged with the Farmers Bank of China, which was then dissolved, leaving TCB as the largest commercial bank in Taiwan with over 295 retail branches. It has since evolved into the largest provider of housing loans in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance remains the largest stakeholder in TCB, with 42.41% of the shares.