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,…

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…

The RM15 million (US$4.7 million) acquisition of Tahan Insurance by Singapore listed Great Eastern Holdings has been given approval by Bank Negara. The takeover will be completed by Great Eastern Holdings wholly owned Malaysia insurance company, Overseas Assurance Corporation Malaysia (OACM), who already operate in the Malaysian general and life insurance market. Bank Negara, Malaysia's central bank,…

Aviva investors have started to question whether the refusal of the GBP 5 billion (EUR 4.13 billion) bid from RSA Insurance Group Plc was the correct way forward, and this question is being addressed to Mr Andrew Moss, who three months after becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Aviva Plc back in July 2007, unveiled his "One Aviva Twice the Value" strategy. Fast forward to the present, and Aviva shares have lost almost half their value since then, prompting investors to ponder about the merits of a breakup of the company.

AIA Group Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Wei, recently communicated that Asia is the global leader in terms of growth in the life insurance market. According to figures released by Mr. Wei, the annual growth rate of life insurance premiums in Asia is 17 percent, compared to 11.6 percent in Europe and 4.9 percent in North America. These figures were shared with the Financial Services Council of Australia in a conference in the city of Melbourne.

RSA has been reported as having made a GBP 5 billion (USD 7.8 billion) bid for Aviva's general insurance business in the UK, which has been turned down by Aviva's board. Aviva shares jumped over 5 percent on the news. RSA has previously targeted much smaller companies for acquisition, such as their purchase earlier in August of

  Bupa, the UK's largest private medical insurance provider, has announced its financial results for the first half of 2010. The report indicated that while the company's UK membership numbers remained flat, there was considerable growth in international markets contributing to an overall increase in income of £3.71 billion(US$ 5.7 billion)  for Bupa. Trading conditions in the UK, US and Spain have…

Indonesia-based joint venture life insurance company, CIMB Sun Life, has been honored as "Best New Company of the Year" by the International Business Awards, also known as the Stevie Awards. CIMB Group, a universal bank in Southeast Asia headquartered in Malaysia, and Sun Life Financial created the Indonesian-based joint venture CIMB Sun Life which started operations in July 2009. The joint…

Allianz Group has announced that its total operating profit for the second quarter of 2010 grew by more than a fifth, based on strong sales across different business lines. Allianz's quarterly revenue for the second quarter was EUR 25.4 billion (USD 32.7 billion) growing 14.5 percent over the 22.2 billion euros (USD 28.6 billion) in revenue from the same quarter in 2009. Allianz's three main…

Allianz Global Automotive and Volkswagen Financial Services have recently signed a letter of intent which will see the two companies agree to continue collaborating and strategically expand their 60 year old successful partnership.