Jul
30
Bharti Axa Planning to Hire 2,000 New Employees by Years End
Filed Under AXA PPP, Health Insurance, Insurance Company, Medical Insurance | 2 Comments
Based on brisk business in motor insurance and the expanding health insurance industry in India, Bharti Axa seeks to hire 2,000 new employees to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Bharti Axa, which is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and international insurance company AXA Group, had earned INR 3.2 billion (USD 68.7 million) in the 2010 financial year, a 1000 percent increase over the INR 320 million (USD 6.87 million) earned the previous year. Much of that growth was due to expansions in Bharti Axa’s retail distribution network, bringing in more customers; and the fact that the motor insurance sector in India is growing by 20-25 percent every year.
Bharti Axa currently employs 1,300 people throughout 57 offices in India, with a further presence in 116 locations. The company has set aside INR 2.5 billion (USD 53.7 million) for further growth, aiming to hire 2,000 more people to take advantage of expanding markets. The industrial, manufacturing, motor and health insurance industries are expected to double in the next 5-6 years to about INR 700 billion (USD 15 billion).
Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, the Managing Director and CEO of Bharti Axa said that “With the health and auto sectors poised to grow rapidly in the country, there is a lot of scope for general insurance players. We are looking at expanding our retail operations in the country and hiring more people this year. By this year, we will have 3,000 people,”
Bharti Axa is also awaiting Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) approval for 62 new insurance products, which it will add to its lineup of 56 non-unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) within the next few years.
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
AXA Group
AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA’s operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area.
Bharti Axa General Insurance
Bharti AXA General Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Group and AXA Group. Founded in July 2007 in Bangalore, India it now has over 40 branches across India offering a variety of insurance products for retail, commercial and rural customers.
Jul
30
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has given authorisation to Allianz for the launch of Rosenberg Capital Management (RCM) fund in Brazil on 07 October 2010. The fund will be actively managed by a UK-domiciled Brazilian Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC), something that had never been done before.
Starting from 30 September, for eight consecutive days there will be a fixed-price offer at GBP 1.00 (EUR 1.20) per share with zero initial charges applying until 29 October. The fund will be invested in its majority towards Brazil, and nearly one third of the fund may be invested in other Latin American and international companies, provided they generate a significant proportion of their sales and earnings in Brazil.
From the investment strategy viewpoint the timing of Brazilian addition to the Allianz portfolio adds diversification and promising potential returns; given all the positive factors currently enjoyed by Brazil in terms of its economy and investment perspective. In addition to a stable government, the economy in Brazil is strong and growing at a fast pace; fuelled by a large and increasingly affluent young population, massive commodity resources and a well-developed equity market facilitating accessing these opportunities to investors.
Looking forward to next year, the earnings growth estimates of Brazilian companies rank among the highest in the world at 26 percent, whilst the market currently trades on a modest price to earnings ratio of 8.6 percent, based on the earnings estimates for 2011.
Insurance Company mentioned:
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Jul
29
CIRC Approves Financial Restructuring of China-based Sun Life Everbright
Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments
China-based Sun Life Everbright Life Insurance announce that China insurance regulators have approved the insurers proposed restructuring. The revamp will result in additional strategic investors buying shares in the joint venture, increasing operating capital.
China Everbright formed a joint venture with Canadian owned Sun Life in 2002, resulting in Sun Life Everbright. A venture which resulted in both companies expanding their exposure across China. This provided a broad range of individual products including life and health insurance. The partnership between Everbright and Sun Life resulted in 18 offices within China
The revamp of Sun Life Everbright ends the Sino-foreign joint venture and opens the doors that will eventually turn the company into a Chinese-owned entity. China Life Everbright will retain a 50% share, while China North Industries Group Corporation and Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation each obtain 12.5% of the life insurer. Sun Life still retain a 325% interest in Sun Life Everbright after the company has fully completed the repositioning. The Canadian-based Sun Life will also continue to provide services – such as risk management and actuarial services – to Sun Life Everbright.
When plans were first announced, CEO of Sun Life Financial, Donald Stewart, Said “This strategic restructuring is in the best long-term interest of our shareholder and secures out participation in the tremendous growth and promise of China life insurance and broader financial services market.”
At present Sun Life Everbright is ranked 15th largest life insurer in China, although with the restructuring Sun Life Everbright aims to rapidly expand its market penetration across China. In recent years the financial and insurance industry has seen considerable action from foreign and domestic firms competing to strengthen their participation in the profitable far-east economy.
Tang Shuangning, Chairman of China’s Everbright Group, said when first announcing the restructuring plans in 2009: “This important agreement strengthens the strategic partnership between Sun Life and China Everbright. It will advance mutual support and the common interests of both companies to grow, to serve Chinese consumers, and to achieve a larger share of the Chinese domestic protection market.”
Sun Life Everbright’s new business model paves the way for the company to take a more aggressive approach to business opportunities in China and its hinterland. The revamp comes at a time when insurance and financial sectors are seeing increased activity from local Chinese companies and foreign firms looking to take full advantage of the growth opportunities in the Chinese economy. Demand for insurance products – particularly health insurance – is a key source of activity for new business.
Sun Life Everbright Life already has a strong presence in major areas within China – including: Beijing, Zhejing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Guangdong and Chongqing.
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is an international financial services organization providing a range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers.
Sun Life Everbright Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Sun Life Everbright Life Insurance was established in April 2002. It’s shareholders include China Everbright Group, Canada’s Sun Life Financial Group, China North Industries Group Corporation and Anshan Iron and Steel Groups, based in Tianjin
Jul
29
FICCI Releases Report Aiming to Improve Healthcare through Insurance
Filed Under Health Insurance, Healthcare | 3 Comments
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has released the results of the developmental framework to provide high quality healthcare through insurance in a document titled “Health Insurance Report, 2010”. Among the recommendations to give a boost to the health insurance sector, the report highlights the need for creating consumer awareness and satisfaction, quality healthcare delivery, improved insurance services, and an increased level of trust between insurers and healthcare providers.
FICCI includes in the report the results of deliberations from three working groups identified as follows;
(1.) ‘Promoting Quality in Health care through Health Insurance’,
(2.) ‘Standardisation of Billing Procedures in Hospitals and Contents of Discharge Summary Format,’ and
(3.) ‘Standardisation of Third Party Administrator (TPA) and Insurer’ and ‘TPA and Hospital Contracts’.
The working group on topic (1.) proposes to develop a framework leading to ‘Pay for Quality’ by achieving a common approach to promote and measure the quality of the healthcare services delivered in the country, through the development of an incentive and disincentive mechanism applied by the insurance industry, using a uniform approach with standard parameters for Quality across the healthcare industry. Implemented over a number of years, the Group recommends a staged and transparent process, whereby providers are informed upfront on the quality expectations. Another objective is to bring small-, medium-, and large-sized healthcare providers into a uniform quality control process covering and leading towards accreditation and beyond, allowing them sufficient time to implement the essential criteria in a gradual manner, and develop their Quality systems and processes, having disclosed to them upfront the expectations and stages.
The part of the report by the working group on topic (2.) suggests standardising the billing formats and enabling the mapping of the hospital information systems in accordance with the specific data requirements of the insurance companies, in order to achieve a faster claims processing time and an enhanced analysis of information handled by all the healthcare providers in the country.
On topic (3.) the working group proposes the development of a basic template for TPA and insurer contract in order to achieve uniformity across the industry and avoid multiple versions in the clauses of the agreement.
With the goal of customer satisfaction at its core, the FICCI Report envisions an ideal universe of health insurance business, greater penetration of health insurance products and affordable quality healthcare for everybody.
Organisation mentioned:
Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India’s struggle for independence and its subsequent emergence as one of the most rapidly growing economies globally. FICCI plays a leading role in policy debates that are at the forefront of social, economic and political change. Through its 400 professionals, FICCI is active in 39 sectors of the economy. FICCI has joint business councils with 79 countries around the world.
Jul
29
Ping An Health Insurance Approved to Open Zhejiang Branch
Filed Under China, China insurance, Health Insurance, Insurance Company, Medical Insurance | 1 Comment
Ping An Health Insurance Company of China, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to set up a new branch in Zhejiang province.
Earlier this year, Ping An Health Insurance was also given approval by the central Chinese insurance regulator to open a branch in Jiangsu province. With the approval of the two new branches, Ping An Health Insurance now has 5 branches in China, although the CIRC says that both of the new branches in Zhejiang and Jiangsu will require operational licenses issued by the local insurance bureaus in the respective provinces.
Ping An Health Insurance already had branches located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, and the approval for the two new branches will allow them to expand into the coastal provinces of Zhejiang, the province directly to the south of Shanghai, and Jiangsu, directly to the north of Shanghai. This will afford China Ping An Health Insurance the opportunity to enter into the markets in the relatively affluent cities of Nanjing in Jiangsu and Hangzhou in Zhejiang.
Original premium income in Zhejiang province between January and May, 2010 was RMB 33.04 billion (USD 4.87 billion), of which accident insurance comprised RMB 727 million (USD 107.2 million), health insurance made up RMB 1.05 billion (USD 154.9 million), property insurance RMB 10.86 billion (USD 1.6 billion), and life insurance making up the lion’s share of RMB 20.4 billion (USD 3 billion).
Similarly, the insurance industry in Jiangsu Province generated RMB 57.47 billion (USD 8.48 billion) in cumulative original premium income. Accident insurance accounted for RMB 1.16 billion (USD 171 million), health insurance RMB 1.91 billion (USD 281.8 million), property insurance RMB 13.08 billion (USD 1.93 billion), and life insurance constituting RMB 41.32 billion (USD 6.1 billion).
According to the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Ping An Health Insurance received original premium income of RMB 64.38 billion (USD 9.5 billion) between January and May, 2010.
Insurance Company mentioned:
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.
Jul
28
Indian Insurer Reliance Life Insurance to Hire Additional Employees
Filed Under Health Insurance, Life Insurance | 11 Comments
Reliance Life Insurance, an Indian life insurance company owned by the Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is planning on hiring large numbers of new sales managers and insurance agents to meet its ambitious goals for expansion.
Reliance Life Insurance intends on hiring 3,000 new sales managers and 150,000 new insurance agents by the end of the Indian fiscal year, which runs from April 2010 to March 2011. While the sales managers will be on the payroll as permanent staff, the insurance agents are to be considered part-time employees and will be paid commission on any customers brought in.
Reliance Life, which crossed the 6,000,000 policy threshold within five years, recorded INR 66.05 billion (USD 1.42 billion) in premiums in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Reliance Life has plans to take in INR 200 billion (USD 4.29 billion) in premiums by 2012-2013, and hopes to bring in INR 100 billion (USD 2.15 billion) by the end of the current fiscal year.
Executives at Reliance Life Insurance have future growth plans of attaining 10 percent market share overall; at the moment they currently capture 10.2 percent of the private life insurance market, while making up only 5.5 percent of India’s overall domestic life insurance market. Further growth plans for Reliance depend on the second half of the Indian fiscal year, with the possibility of enlarging their branch network from 1,247 to 1,500 if economic trends permit. There are also plans to expand into the Indian health insurance market, with hopes of selling 1 million policies by the end of the fiscal year.
President and Executive Director of Reliance Life Insurance, Malay Ghosh said “We are raising the headcount by 20 percent in the current fiscal. We have already hired 2,000 sales managers in the first three months of 2010-11, and will add another 1,000 in the coming months. This human capital addition will increase the company’s total strength to 18,000.”
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Reliance Life Insurance
Indian life insurance company, Reliance Life Insurance, is an associate company of Reliance Capital. Reliance Capital is one of India’s top 3 financial services companies by net worth. Both Reliance Life Insurance and Reliance Capital are part of the Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
Jul
28
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) has appointed Dan Dunmoyer as the new Head of Government And Industry Affairs (GAIA) for the Americas, with his base located in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Dunmoyer as the Chairman for Zurich GAIA will be reporting to both Paul Hopkins, Regional Chairman of Zurich in the Americas and Peter Buomberger, Group Head of GAIA International. Mr. Dunmoyer will lead all the state and federal legislative and regulatory affairs activities for Zurich.
Back in December 2008, Mr. Dunmoyer joined Zurich as Senior Vice-President of government and industry affairs and head of state legislative and regulatory affairs.
Before joining Zurich, Mr. Dunmoyer was chief cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff at the California Government. During the period from 1996 to 2005 Mr. Dunmoyer worked in the private sector and was president and CEO of the Personal Insurance Federation of California.
Mr. Dunmoyer was alumni of the University of Southern California, where he obtained a bachelors degree in political science and a masters degree in public administration.
Insurance Company mentioned:
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Zurich Financial Services Group is an insurance-based financial services provider with a network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe and also in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Zurich is one of the world’s largest insurance groups, and one of the few to operate on a truly global basis. With 60,000 employees serving customers in more than 170 countries, our business is concentrated in three business segments: General Insurance, Global Life, and Farmers.
Jul
27
Fortis Ends Bidding War Leaving Khazanah in Position to Buy Parkway
Filed Under China, Healthcare | 7 Comments
On Monday July 26th 2010, Fortis Healthcare Ltd. rescinded its SGD 3.2 billion (USD 2.3 billion) offer to buy remaining Parkway shares, leaving the subsidiary of Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah, Integrated Healthcare Holdings, free to purchase all outstanding Parkway Holdings shares.
Khazanah, through Integrated Healthcare, had originally offered SGD 1.18 billion (USD 835 million) to increase their stake in Parkway Holdings from 23.9 to 51.5% in May 2010. Fortis then offered SGD 3.78 (US2.71) per share for all remaining shares. However, since Fortis dropped their plans for taking over Parkway on Monday, Khazanah has offered SGD 3.5 billion (USD 2.57 billion) for all outstanding shares in Parkway, making it three times larger than their previous offer for a simple majority stake.
Fortis has come to an agreement with Khazanah to sell its 282.7 million share stake in Parkway at a price of SGD 3.95 (USD 2.9) per share, translating to a total of approximately SGD 1.12 billion (USD 822.3 million). The deal will give Khazanah the keys to the Parkway kingdom, which includes 16 hospitals throughout Asia, offering more than 3,400 beds in places like Singapore, China, Malaysia, Brunei and India.
Malvinder Mohan Singh, the Chairman of Fortis and Parkway said that “After considered and deliberate discussions, we have decided to divest our strategic stake in Parkway and have reached an agreement with Khazanah to accept their voluntary general offer. Our decision to exit our investments took into account the interest of all stakeholders of Fortis. It was made after careful assessment of the intrinsic value of Parkway and in light of other growth opportunities available to us across the region and globally.”
The offer made through Integrated Healthcare will close on August 16th, with a Director of Integrated Healthcare Holdings, Ahmad Shahizam Mohd Shariff, saying that “If our voluntary general offer is successful, then we will be able to achieve the vision we outlined when we launched our partial offer, to create Asia’s premier regional healthcare platform,”
Companies Mentioned:
Fortis Healthcare International
Founded in India in 1999, Fortis Healthcare International is a healthcare provider that currently operates 46 hospitals in India, which are organized as a hub and spoke model around their specialty hospitals. They offer laboratory, wellness, information technology, travel and financial services through the wholly owned Religare Enterprises Limited.
As Malaysia’s state investment company, Khazanah Nasional Berhad is responsible for managing the Malaysian Government’s investments as well as strategically investing in new sectors and markets. Khazanah Nasional was incorporated as a public limited company in September 1993 and started operations the following year. All shares are owned by the corporate body of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, except for one owned by Pesuruhjaya Tanah Persekutuan, the Federal Land Commissioner. Khazanah holds investments in more than 50 companies, including but not limited to companies engaged in aviation, banking, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications.
First listed on the Singaporean stock exchange in 1975, Parkway Holdings has become one of the top-quality integrated healthcare providers in Asia in the intervening years. Parkway now operates 16 hospitals in Asia, with over 3,400 beds throughout Singapore, China, Malaysia, India, Brunei, and the UAE. Parkway also boasts a nursing and health science college, extensive diagnostic, imaging and laboratory resources and the largest foreign owned medical network in Shanghai.
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
26
United MetLife – Opens New Sichuan Branch
Filed Under China, China insurance, Health Insurance, Insurance Company, International Healthcare, MetLife | 1 Comment
MetLife announces the opening of its third Provincial branch in Sichuan. The unveiling of the new Sichuan branch is the first since United Metlife disclosed its plans to merge with Sino-US MetLife insurance business.
The planned merger between United MetLife and its Sino-US MetLife Insurance Company Limited is the first sign that MetLife is preparing for the two MetLife subsidiary’s to amalgamate; this follows the announcement by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) that foreign investors should only have one insurance operation on the mainland.
The Beijing based Sino-US MetLife insurance subsidiary planned merger with the Shanghai based United MetLife – creating Sino-US United MetLife Insurance – will ensure that MetLife follows the Chinese Authorities guidelines for foreign insurance investors in China.
In order for MetLife to meet its obligations – to become a single operating insurance provider in China – requires Capital Airport Holding to sell its 50% stake in Sino-US MetLife to Shanghai Alliance Investment which is MetLife’s JV partner in United MetLife.
Mr Marks, head of the Asia-Pacific region for MetLife said “China is a key strategic market for MetLife. By having a single partner across the country we can create a stronger brand and portfolio of offerings for the market. This will allow us to accelerate growth and in turn provide increased value to our customers.”
The opening of the new branch in the Sichuan province – together with the Chongqing branch – means MetLife continues to build the foundations in second-tier cities in western China, expanding its presence in the country; this has been a key focus for MetLife in recent years.
Sino-US MetLife Insurance Company Limited provides life, accident and health insurance to individuals in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Sheyang and Dalian. While United MetLife Insurance Company Limited offers life and accidental insurance products in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wuxi.
The announcement of the Sichuan province branch comes at a time for MetLife when foreign investors in China, aim to strengthen their presence in this prosperous country. The growing demand for insurance products – to cover accident and health in China – is a key revenue stream for MetLife since they acquired the American Life Insurance Company.
The Asian insurance industry – especially China – has been transformed in recent years, with foreign investors competing for a percentage of this profitable market. MetLife’s activities in China was estimated to generated Yuan 3 billion (US$442 billion) in 2009 – a figure accounting for less than 1% of the Chinese insurance market.
Insurance company mentioned:
MetLife
Possessing over 140 years of insurance expertise, MetLife aims to be an innovator in the field of international Life insurance. Globally, MetLife is able to offer its clients accident and health insurance, life insurance, disability income protection, and retirement and savings products.
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