The insurance industry seems to be going through a lull. Things are quiet, with few major news events, no major catastrophes rocking the industry and a general sense of calm. How much of this is merely the swimming duck effect, with the appearance of calm on the surface, but energetic kicking happening under the water remains to be seen - but there is certainly a lot going on behind closed doors. In…

China announced last week that they plan to increase healthcare spending to more than USD 1 trillion by 2020. This is a lot of money, but a closer look at the current state of public health in China and the obstacles to further improvement, will help shed some light on this announcement. We recently posted an article covering the state of China's health services, the "successfully completed"…

During his inaugural speech of the 6th FICCI HEAL (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry - Health Enterprise and Learning) 2012 annual international conference in Delhi this week, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee noted that there is a "high variance" in the quality of service available in public and private sector hospitals, and that the country's healthcare system should be…

The rise of the middle class in East Asia is proving to be a boon for private healthcare providers. Kuala Lumpur based IHH illustrates this nicely. In their recent IPO, which was 132 times oversubscribed, IHH raised more than USD 2 billion and the shares climbed by more than 10% in the first few days of trading. The value of the company stands at around USD 8 billion. IHH is now the second largest…

There is to be a vigorous shake up of the Slovak private health insurance industry. So vigorous in fact, that it's actually going to disappear altogether. The Slovak government has reached a decision this week that it wants to bring all health insurance under a single state run system. A move the government feels will save the Slovak state some money by stopping the flow of precious state funds…

There have been a number of notable changes in International Private Medical Health Insurance in the last few weeks, while not as earth shattering as the Libor scandal or the crop failures in the US, the progressive and continual changes reveal an industry that is currently very dynamic and competitive. While Bupa is launching products to fill gaps it sees in the IPMI market, US healthcare giant…

Published July 25, 2012

A report released on Monday by the Healthcare Reform Office in China announced that the 3 year plan to improve some of the fundamental parts of China’s healthcare system completed its objectives on schedule. The Chinese Central Government spent almost US$71 billion between 2009 and 2011 in efforts to improve healthcare services to the public, build primary care…

Aviva Indonesia is introducing an International Health Insurance product offering to the Indonesian market in response to a growing number of expats and well heeled local Indonesians. The portfolio offers international health insurance coverage with limits between US$1-2 million, depending on the product, and will allow holders of a policy to travel internationally in order to receive qualifying…

A number of new developments in the International Private Medical Insurance (iPMI) market were announced recently, which will see at least two internationally renowned insurance providers enhance the scope of their available coverage options. ALC Health has expanded and improved the coverage and benefits of the international health plans in their Prima line of products. Meanwhile Clements Worldwide,…

As Europe remains to be a place of economic uncertainty, Asia continues to provide Health insurers opportunities for investment and expansion. Asia is home to the largest number of high net worth individuals and with 3.3 million people now owning liquid assets worth at least USD $1 million, the continent has overtaken Europe and is second only to North America in terms of wealth. Several of the less…