India's next generation of consumers are growing increasingly aware of the benefits of insurance and will be more willing than ever to purchase cost-effective policies, according to survey results released this week by Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurance company. The "Survey of Risk Appetite and Insurance: Asia-Pacific…

Results from a survey released this week by Swiss Re, one of the world's leading reinsurance companies, has revealed that China's upcoming generation of workers aged 20 to 40 years old are keen to purchase insurance in large numbers as the awareness of risk, and a need to supplement social security, continues to rise in the world's second largest economy. Between April and May 2011, Swiss…

Mashreq Qatar, the Doha-based arm of one of the MENA region’s leading financial institutions, has this week launched a new critical illness cover policy, titled Wealthcare Insurance, in partnership with MetLife Alico. With the local economy set to continue growing, Mashreq Qatar has been committed to providing enhanced wealth management services for clients in the Emirates and this new insurance…

Global economic uncertainty has made access to affordable healthcare a key challenge for many consumers worldwide. A recent survey conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions has revealed that people from all across the world are now altering their spending habits, turning ever more price-conscious and even delaying treatment in fear of rising healthcare costs and their government's prevailing…

The pan-Asian insurance giant American International Assurance (AIA) has posted stronger-than-expected financial results for the first half of 2011. The Hong Kong-listed insurance company reported last week that net profit for the first six months of its fiscal year had risen by almost a quarter due to increased agent productivity and the continued success of its insurance businesses in key Asian markets,…

July may have brought the end of Europe's deadly e. coli outbreak, but the economic repercussions will continue to be felt for some time. European farmers are demanding compensation for millions in lost earnings, and the EU slapped a ban on Egyptian agricultural exports after identifying Egyptian fenugreek seeds as the source. Elsewhere, Hong Kong saw a steep rise in scarlet fever cases and a study…

India's second biggest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank (PNB), has agreed to acquire a 30 percent stake in MetLife India for an undisclosed amount, becoming the single largest shareholder in the private insurance company. The move marks the bank's first foray into the insurance business. Once the transaction is finalized, the two parties have agreed the joint venture company will be…

Chinese insurance companies will need to raise more than CNY110 billion(US$17 billion) of fresh external funding to support their industry's further growth and development over the next three years, according to credit analysts from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. Although the credit outlook for China's life and property insurers will remain stable to positive, the ratings agency expects the industry…

There may be boom times ahead for the Philippines insurance industry after some difficult years. The Southeast Asian country's life insurers are particularly confident about the performance forecast for their sector, projecting double-digit growth in written premiums for the second consecutive year due to the country's positive economic indicators and an increased demand for insurance products. Mayo…

Dutch financial services company ING Groep NV reached an agreement this week to sell off most of its insurance businesses in Latin America to Colombian conglomerate Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana SA for a reported €2.6 billion (US$3.7 billion). The deal, expected to close by year's end, is part of ING's attempt to divest assets and repay the Dutch state and could also instigate a slew of activity…