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Discovery Acquisition of Standard Life Healthcare Approved

After having received approval from Britain’s Financial Services Authority and the South African Reserve Bank, the acquisition of Standard Life’s health insurance division, Standard Life Healthcare, by Discovery Holdings has been completed, putting PruHealth in a strong position for growth.

The finalized acquisition and integration of the companies over the next few months will make PruHealth a competitor of scale in the UK private medical insurance market, growing the number of people covered up to 700,000 and boosting market share up to 11 percent. The additional business makes PruHealth the fourth largest private medical insurer in the UK.

The integration of the two companies will take some months, and when it arrives it will see a suite of private medical insurance products based upon the best aspects of currently available insurance policies from PruHealth and Standard Life Healthcare. The new product suite is expected to be ready by the end of 2010, but in the mean time PruHealth will continue to service and sell all products from both PruHealth’s and Standard Life Healthcare’s ranges.

While the integration and new product suite is being arranged, there will be no changes to broker arrangements, customer service, existing policies and account management and sales support for products offered by PruHealth and those previous offered by Standard Life Healthcare. If there are any planned changes to a customer’s policy, they will be notified when the policy is up for renewal.

In the transitional period previous Standard Life Healthcare policies will be referred to under a new brand as ‘PruHealth Previously Standard Life Healthcare’, in order to ensure the integration is done smoothly.

The previous Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Health, Neville Koopowitz, has been appointed as the new CEO of PruHealth. Mr. Koopowitz said that “We are proud to be able to bring to clients both the award-winning product innovation and the excellent service history of two leading PMI businesses, and are excited about the opportunity to further develop our presence in the UK market. We are working hard to bring clients a new product suite, building on PruHealth’s wellness expertise and Standard Life Healthcare’s emphasis on outstanding service and comprehensive coverage.”

Insurance Companies Mentioned:

Discovery Holdings

Discovery is a financial services provider based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was founded in 1992. Discovery offers health and life insurance in different markets as well as investment services and credit cards. They also have a joint venture life and health insurance companies with Prudential called PruHealth and PruProtect, which are structured under the PruProtection banner.

Standard Life plc.

Standard Life was established in 1825 and headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since its beginnings, Standard Life has expanded into a financial services company offering pensions, life assurance, and investment management to over 6.5 million customers around the globe.

PruHealth

PruHealth is part of a joint venture named Prudential Health Holdings Limited, between Prudential Assurance Company of the UK and Discovery Holdings. The joint venture was started in 2004 and offers private medical insurance in the United Kingdom. Currently Discovery Holdings owns a 75 percent stake in the joint venture while Prudential Assurance holds the remaining 25 percent.

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Aetna Global Benefits Appoints New Head of Middle East Operations

Stuart Leatherby has been appointed as the Managing Director to head up Aetna’s expatriate health insurance business, Aetna Global Benefits, in the Middle East and Africa.

Leatherby has been working with Aetna Global Benefits since 2000, and prior to his promotion he has been working as the head of Aetna Global Benefits’ International Markets Development team where he was responsible for expanding business across new, and preexisting geographical and market segments. In his decade of service at the company, Leatherby has worked in a number of diverse positions with a variety of responsibilities that have included areas such as compliance, technical claims, product development, workflow management, information technology, underwriting and portfolio management.

As the new Managing Director and Head of Aetna Global Benefits business in the Middle East and Africa, Stuart Leatherby will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with effect from September 1^st, 2010.

David Corkum, Aetna Global Benefits Group Managing Director, said that “Stuart’s extensive international health insurance experience will serve us well in our continued efforts to provide world-class benefit solutions and service for our valued customers and members in the Middle East and Africa. This region is a strategically important market for our organisation, and Stuart and his team’s efforts will be instrumental in our continued successful growth and expansion.”

The current Aetna Global Benefits Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, Mark Jardin also says that “Stuart possesses a unique combination of strong technical expertise and business experience that will be key to cultivating our consultant, broker and customer relationships, as well as market development activities in the region. I have greatly enjoyed my time in the region and look forward to continuing to assist in Aetna’s international expansion and growth upon my return to the United States.”

Insurance Companies Mentioned:

Aetna

Aetna is a leading global diversified healthcare benefits company head-quartered in the US, serving approximately 35.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their healthcare. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioural health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and healthcare management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labour groups and expatriates.

Aetna Global Benefits

Aetna Global Benefits, the international business segment of Aetna, is committed to helping create a stronger, healthier global community by delivering comprehensive health benefits and health management solutions worldwide. AGB’s expatriate business is one of the industry’s largest and most prominent US-based international health benefits providers, supporting more than 400,000 members worldwide. The organisation’s health management business collaborates with healthcare systems, government entities and plan sponsors around the world to design and build locally-applied health management solutions to improve health, quality and cost outcomes.

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

Bupa Expands Health Care Select Product Line

Bupa has added Health Care Select 3 Plus (HCS3P) as a fifth choice in their Care Select insurance product line, effectively extending their Heartbeat range of plans offered to individuals in search of private medical insurance.

In the scheme of the Heartbeat Range, Health Care Select 1 delivers the most comprehensive cover, whilst Health Care Select 4 brings the lowest level of cover. Health Care Select 3 Plus fits right in between these two levels of medical cover. A specialist plan that provides medical cover for heart and cancer is also included under the Heartbeat Range.

Health Care Select 3 Plus covers the full cost of hospital charges and the fees of consultants for in-patient and day treatment, including cancer treatment. Also covered are the full cost of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, diagnostic tests and therapies for cancer treatment, as well as eligible outpatient cancer drugs. The benefits for outpatient treatment have a coverage ceiling of US$1,550 (EUR 1,220) for the combined cost of consultations, diagnostic tests, physiotherapy and other therapies.

Other benefits in this new HCS3P plan include the cost of a private ambulance up to US$93 (EUR 73) each tip, accommodation for one parent when staying with a child under 12 years of age who is receiving in-patient treatment, plus access to the Bupa health line service. Not covered under this plan are the complementary medicine and psychiatric treatments.

By removing benefits such as psychiatric treatment and limiting the outpatient coverage, this plan reduces the amount paid in the form of premiums, something that clients concerned with the cost of the plan may find reasonable, as not all clients feel that these benefits are necessary.

As a trend, the modular approach in the level of cover offered by insurance product lines, like the Heartbeat Range offered by Bupa, is gaining attention among providers of private medical insurance and other companies are coming out with their respective product offerings.

The following table summarizes the benefits offered by the Health Care Select products in the Heartbeat Range:

Insurance Company mentioned:

Bupa

Bupa is an international health insurance company that provides health insurance for individuals and companies all over the world. Bupa has offices on three continents and over 7 million customers’ world wide. As a provident association Bupa has no shareholders, because of this it uses its profits to invest in healthcare and medical facilities around the world.

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Chartis – AIU to Offer Double Indemnity After Philippines Hostage Crisis

It has emerged that Chartis Insurance, formerly American International Underwriters, was the underwriter for the travel insurance policies held by 4 of the victims in the recent Philippines hostage crisis. Tour operator, Hong Thai Travel, has promised to provide additional compensation to the remaining families not holding travel insurance coverage. The incident on Monday, August 23, left 8 Hong Kong tourists dead, and spurred mass outrage across the South-East Asian region.

Hong Thai Travel has promised HK$ 320,000 (US$ 41,025) in compensation to each victim’s family. Of the total compensation being paid out by the tour operator, HK$ 300,000 (US$ 38,461) is travel accident compensation, while the remaining HK$ 20,000 (US$ 2,564) is a death gratuity.

However, of the families of the 8 victims receiving the Hong Thai Travel compensation package, 4 families stand to receive an additional HK$ 1,000,000 (US$ 128,205) due to the fact that they had purchased extra travel insurance coverage from Chartis Insurance, Hong Thai Travel’s official insurance partner.

Chartis Vice President, Wong Fu-Tat, said “the level of compensation for victims has been doubled, from HK$500,000 to HK$1 million, under insurance covering accidents caused by public transport.” As such, the insurance company had labeled the situation as “special.” Additionally, Chartis has said that “Special Arrangements” were in place to help the survivors of the tragedy, with the company providing up to HK$ 1,000,000 in Philippines Medical Benefits, and covering further medical treatment in Hong Kong up to HK$ 100,000 (US$ 12,820).

Under a typical Chartis/AIU travel policy, the victim’s family would only be able to claim up to HK$ 500,000 (US$ 64,102) due to the fact that all the victims were on a tour, organized by a tour agency. Under the Chartis policy, “Accidents while in a Common Carrier” can be indemnified up to HK$ 1,000,000. However the policy wording states:

The Benefit will be payable to the Insured Person who suffers an Injury while riding as a fare paying passenger, and not as pilot, operator or crew member in or on, boarding or alighting from any Common Carrier, or the carrier as arranged by a travel agent, or while the Insured Person is riding in an automobile at the time of Injury during the insured Journey outside Hong Kong which, directly and independently of all other causes shall result in any Event provided in the Benefit Table…

In this case, as the victims were on a tour, they would normally be excluded from coverage under the “Accidents while in a Common Carrier” benefit, and covered under the policy’s “Other Accidents Benefit;” where the company is only liable for up to HK$ 500,000 in compensation. However, Chartis, recognizing the extremity of the situation has doubled the total amount for which families of the victims can claim.

This affair only serves to highlight the need for comprehensive travel insurance coverage. As we have previously illustrated, travel insurance is one key component of a vacation which often goes overlooked. However, in the event of a serious situation, such as the hostage taking incident, it is important that coverage is in place. The differences between the compensation being received by the families who had insurance coverage in place and those who did not is HK$ 1,000,000 (US$ 128,205); and should serve to highlight the importance of adequate insurance coverage while overseas.

The last victim of the Philippines Hostage crisis was the Hong Thai Travel tour guide, Masa Tse Ting-Chunn, who has been widely praised in Hong Kong for phoning colleagues in Hong Kong and alerting them to the crisis. Tse’s family will receive the HK$ 320,000 accident benefit and death gratuity from Hong Thai Travel, in addition to his annual travel insurance benefits and labor insurance coverage.

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Discovery Health in Agreement with Ping An Over Stake in Ping An Health

South Africa-based health insurance company, Discovery Holdings, has signed an agreement with Ping An Insurance Company to take a substantial stake in Ping An’s health insurance subsidiary, Ping An Health Insurance Company, in order to develop the Chinese health insurance market.

The agreement was signed during a trip to Beijing and Shanghai by South African government officials, including the President Jacob Zuma and 12 ministers, as well as a business delegation of over 320 South African business people. The agreement will see Discovery Holdings take an initial 20 percent stake in Ping An Health Insurance, Ping An Group’s health insurance subsidiary.

Discovery bought Standard Life’s health insurance unit in the UK earlier this year, enveloping it in its joint-venture with Prudential, PruHealth. With health insurance clients in South Africa and the UK reaching more than 2.9 million, Discovery’s experience in running health insurance businesses in both developed and developing insurance markets is seen as a large part in why Ping An picked Discovery for the partnership.

The number of upper- and middle-income households in China reaches 80-90 million, most of which are capable of affording top-up insurance to complement the Social Health Insurance system run by the government. The demand from this segment of the population for insurance products that cover private healthcare services, as well as drugs and diagnostic tests that fall outside the coverage schedule of the Social Health Insurance is increasing, and the government is encouraging health insurance companies to fulfill this need as it tries to roll out the Healthy China 2020 reforms.

Ping An Health Insurance is likely to benefit from the strengths of both Ping An Group and Discovery Holdings. Ping An Health Insurance can springboard off the back of Ping An Group’s scale, distribution network and experience in the Chinese market, while Discovery brings its array of health products, systems and processes, and data and risk management abilities to the table.

Adrian Gore, the Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Holdings said that “Ping An is an excellent partner. The Group is a leader in the Chinese insurance market, providing immediate scale, brand and distribution capability in this rapidly growing market.”

Ping An’s Chief Insurance Officer also sees a bright future ahead, adding that “Both Ping An and Discovery have a vision to fundamentally change the markets in which they operate, and provide consumers with innovative, benefit-rich products. Discovery is a global leader in consumer-engaged health care, and we are excited to have them as a partner. Through this cooperation, Discovery will also be able to share the massive distribution channel and customer base brought by Ping An.”

Insurance Companies Mentioned:

Discovery Holdings

Discovery is a financial services provider based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was founded in 1992. Discovery offers health insurance and life insurance in different markets as well as investment services and credit cards. They also have a joint venture life and health insurance companies with Prudential called PruHealth and PruProtect, which are structured under the PruProtection banner.

Ping An Insurance Company

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.

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Emergency Evacuation Coverage Often Ignored

With the ability to travel across the world getting easier every year, one thing many people do not take into account is the price of getting home should an accident occur. Cases like Carrie-Anne Dudbridge and Ryan Elley are sad illustrations of the necessities of travel insurance in the modern age.

There have been a number of incidents this year involving holidaymakers, many of them from Britain, who have suffered a tragic accident while vacationing in another country. Many of these occurrences have happened within Europe, likely due to the fact that traveling between European Union member states is an easy and economical way to reach some of the most sought after travel destinations in the world.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E111 in 2006, also reassures travelers within the EU, by offering them some level of health insurance coverage when visiting other member states. However, in some cases the EHIC may be lulling people into a false sense of safety, as many are still confused over what exactly is covered by the EHIC.

The EHIC guarantees holder the same access to healthcare as a local resident in the event of illness or accident while traveling. While this can lead to some minor aggravation and bureaucratic hoop-jumping, depending on whether the country the EHIC holder is visiting has copayments, or relies on a system where you pay for treatment up front and claim the costs back, recent accidents have demonstrated that it is no replacement for actual travel or international health insurance.

Should someone suffer an unforeseen catastrophic injury that requires hospitalization while on vacation, it may be necessary to transfer the patient by air ambulance to the nearest medical facility capable of providing the necessary care. Furthermore, depending on the quality of the local healthcare system or the feasibility of waiting for the patient to recover enough to travel home regularly, it may be necessary to transport the patient back to their home nation via medical repatriation. In either case, the costs associated with both air ambulances and medical repatriation are extraordinary; without the appropriate medical insurance in place individuals are left facing thousands of dollars in fees.

Ryan Elley and Carrie-Anne Dudbridge are just two of the most recent in a long line of unfortunate accidents in European getaway locations. Ryan Elley, 20 years old, made a last-minute decision to join his friends in Playa d’en Bossa, a well known party destination on the Spanish island of Ibiza, without taking out health insurance. While at the Jet Apartments at the resort, Elley fell from a second floor balcony, breaking his spine in three places, puncturing a lung and suffering serious head injuries. Elley was the second British national to fall from a balcony at the Jet Apartments, after Peter Carter was injured earlier in 2010 when he attempted to jump from a 3^rd floor balcony into the pool, but misjudged the distance. This activity has apparently happened frequently enough that it is now dubbed ‘balconing’ and Spanish authorities in the Balearic Islands are asking tourists to restrain themselves to prevent injuries.

Ryan Elley was placed in a medical coma at the Son Dureta hospital in Palma, Majorca. His parents are trying to repatriate him to England, but due to the fact he did not take out medical insurance they now face a GBP 15,000 (USD 23,360) bill for the air ambulance. So far his family and friends have raised GBP 8,000 towards the costs of the air ambulance.

Carrie-Anne Dudbridge was a newlywed on her honeymoon to the Greek island of Corfu with husband Michael Dudbridge, when she suffered a tragic accident and fell 20 feet from the balcony, fracturing her spine in three places. The Dudbridges did have the EHIC, which they believed would cover their expenses in the case of an accident, however, they found out that the EHIC does not provide cover for medical transportation.

Because the couple did not have travel insurance, they faced having to pay GBP 16,000 (USD 25,000) for an air ambulance to repatriate Carrie-Anne back to England. Mr. Dudbridge launched an appeal for help on the internet, which thankfully has raised about GBP 20,000 (USD 31,190), enough to have the Dudbridges flown back to England on Sunday, August 22^nd 2010, by Mediaviation, a private air ambulance service.

These incidents occurred in first world nations, Greece and Spain respectively, where the quality of healthcare and medical treatment is generally considered to be fairly high. If Carrie-Anne had suffered her injury in a country where the provision of medical treatment is much more limited the costs involved with transporting her home safely could be much higher. Were Ryan Elley to have been injured somewhere further a field than Spain, it could have been very difficult and cost-prohibitive for his family to fly out and assist him, in effect leaving him alone in a foreign country with no insurance.

Thailand for instance, where approximately 860,000 Briton tourists visited between March 2009 and 2010, happens to be the place where, proportionally, the most number of British tourists are likely to die or end up in hospital according to British Behavior Abroad, a report by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The report also illustrates the unfortunate fact that due to financial pressures, many holidaymakers are forgoing travel insurance to save money.

It is important to make sure that you have some level of protection when traveling, whether that is through basic travel insurance or an international medical insurance plan that covers emergency evacuations. While having some form of protection is a start, it is necessary to have an understanding of what your insurance covers, as in some cases travel insurance will not cover you if there is an accident where drugs or alcohol are involved. Accidents do happen, and as Chris Bryant, the British Foreign Office Minister said, “Getting comprehensive travel insurance means that whilst an accident may disrupt your holiday, it won’t bankrupt you in extortionate medical or repatriation bills.”

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CaliforniaChoice Health Insurance Exchange Reaches 20 Million Members

CaliforniaChoice, a health insurance exchange that is a product of CHOICE Administrators, announced that it has become the first health insurance exchange in the United States to reach 20 million member-months.

Health insurance exchanges offer consumers an easy way to compare costs and benefit options across a variety of health insurance products from insurers participating in the exchange. CaliforniaChoice counts among its participants: Anthem Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente, Health Net, Sharp Health Plan, and Western Health Advantage, as well as a variety of chiropractic, dental, vision and other ancillary benefit policies.

Started in 1996, CaliforniaChoice is geared towards providing individuals and small and medium-sized employers an accessible way to find health insurance that fits both their coverage and budget needs. By reaching the landmark of 20 million member-months, CaliforniaChoice demonstrates its position as not only the oldest health insurance exchange in America, but also one of its most successful. A member-month is simply the number of participants in the exchange who are members for each month.

While some state-run exchanges have not performed strongly, CaliforniaChoice demonstrates that with the right set up, the exchanges can be very effective. The apparent key to success as a health insurance exchange boils down to having a variety of quality health plans covering different levels of benefits and price points, combined with decision support tools to make finding the appropriate health insurance plan easier for participants.

As part of the Senate health reform bill, H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by the Senate in December 2009 and then by the House of Representatives in March 2010, each state must set up health insurance exchanges for individual and family health insurance plans, as well as small groups or companies of up to 100 employees. This mandate for health insurance exchanges takes effect on January 1, 2014.

The President of CHOICE Administrators, Ron Goldstein said “If done properly – as the privately run CaliforniaChoice has shown it can be – exchanges have the capacity to help us move to a more rational method of purchasing health coverage while getting society closer to achieving the noble goal of universal coverage for all its citizens,” continuing on to say that “In many ways the exchange is like a giant, online health shopping mall filled with an assortment of carriers offering their products at various price points and benefits, the CaliforniaChoice model has witnessed unprecedented success, and it’s not a stretch to call it a model for how exchanges should be established and administered under the new regulations.”

Companies Mentioned:

CHOICE Administrators

Based in Orange, California, CHOICE Administrators inc. is a subsidiary of Word & Brown, that deals with developing and administering employee-choice health benefit programs. They oversee health insurance exchanges like CaliforniaChoice and CaliforniaChoice 51+, which offer healthcare policies to individuals, families and small and medium sized groups.

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Manulife Life Japan Changes Strategy to Tap Market

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

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.

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Insurance Market in UAE grows 9.8 Percent in 2009

The insurance industry in the United Arab Emirates seemed unaffected by the global downturn in 2009, growing 9.8 percent over the previous year and generating AED 20.1 billion (USD 5.5 billion) in premiums for the year.

A report issued by the UAE’s industry watchdog, the Insurance Authority, showed that the insurance industry contributed AED 23.7 billion (USD 6.5 billion) towards the economy, compared to AED 21.6 billion (USD 5.8 billion) during 2008.

Property and Casualty business in the UAE pulled in AED 16.8 billion (USD 4.6 billion) in gross written premiums in 2009, an increase of 7.7 percent over the AED 15.6 billion (USD 4.2 billion) in gross written premiums in 2008. Of all premiums underwritten in the property and casualty sector, accident and casualty insurance made up 46.7 percent of premiums, medical insurance comprised 24.5 percent, fire insurance totaled 12.7 percent, and land, sea and air transport business made up 12.1 of underwritten premiums, with the remaining 4 percent coming from other business.

National insurance companies in the UAE accounted for 76.3 percent of all underwritten property and casualty insurance business, with the remainder being comprised of foreign companies. The Insurance Authority’s report pegs earned premiums from property and casualty insurance at AED 16.3 billion (USD 4.4 billion).

While the insurance industry in the UAE did well in 2009, it remains to be seen whether it will continue to do so in 2010. With nearly half of all underwritten premiums coming from accident and casualty insurance, which directly pertains to insuring construction projects among other things, the insurance industry could see a drastic drop in this sector of business considering that the construction industry is still trying to come back from its near total collapse in 2009.

Major construction companies are reeling from the aftermath of Dubai’s economic crisis, with many projects having been postponed and property prices falling sharply across the UAE. Arabtec, one of the UAE’s construction giants saw a 40 percent year-on-year drop in profits for the second quarter of 2010, while British construction company Balfour Beatty reported a 10 percent drop in revenue from its Middle Eastern construction business for the first half of 2010, compared with the same time period last year. If the construction industry in the UAE continues to flounder, then it has a potential knock on effect on the property and casualty insurance industry.

Life insurance and fund accumulation operations in the UAE made AED 3.3 billion (USD 898 million) worth of underwriting premiums in 2009, growing 22.22 percent year-on-year. National companies accounted for a 35.1 percent share of the premiums, while the claims ratio for the life insurance business in the UAE rose from 58.8 percent in 2008, to 59.1 percent in 2009.

At the end of 2009, there were 58 insurance companies operating in the UAE, 32 of which are national companies, while the number of insurance brokers working in the country dropped 20 percent to 169 companies. The large drop in the number of insurance brokers was due to many of them being found not in compliance with a regulation of the insurance brokers profession, namely ministerial resolution (543)/2006.

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Bajaj Allianz Star Package Covers Multiple Risks in One Policy

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).