Asia’s risk managers gathered in the Philippines to discuss technology disruption, changes in consumer behaviour and the threat of fake news at the latest conference held by the Pan-Asia Risk and Insurance Management Association (Parima). The event, titled Redefining Risks, also gave the association the chance to announce its Competency Framework, a personal benchmarking tool for risk managers. The event,…
Following a disappointing 2018, Allianz is predicting that Asia’s insurance market will rebound in 2019 and be a primary driver of global insurance growth over the next decade. Industry projections have repeatedly forecast a strong improvement in Asia’s insurance industry given the strong growth rates of many of its economies and the relatively low level of insurance penetration to date.…
Financial markets and international investors have hailed a potentially positive economic impact from the re-election of Narendra Modi as prime minister of India, although the positive forecast does come with some conditions, namely that it must be accompanied by promised reforms in the banking sector, increased infrastructure spending and a period of fiscal stability. Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…
Singapore has emerged as the leading country for corporate governance according to the 2019 edition of the FM Global Resilience Index. The insurer’s index has been running for several years now but this is the first time that corporate governance has been added as one of the 12 economic, risk and supply chain-related metrics used to rank countries. Singapore ranked…
US-based specialty insurer Markel International has hired former AIG executive Rajesh Sinha as its new head of personal accident, contingency and entertainment (PACE) in Asia. Mr Sinha will be based in Singapore where he will be responsible for leading the development of new product concepts across numerous product lines and building a profitable and sustainable PACE portfolio across the region.…
Lloyds insurer ArgoGlobal has expanded its Asia-Pacific team by appointing Zachary Tan as accident and health (A&H) underwriter. Mr Tan will be based in Singapore and will report to Michael Scala, chief underwriting officer, Asia-Pacific. Mr Scala said the appointment is a demonstration of ArgoGlobal’s ambition to grow its Asia-Pacific business. “With a strong team in place both at Lloyd’s…
A proposed legal case in Hong Kong could give a significant insight into one of the most debated issues around liability – namely, who do you blame when a robot goes wrong? Hong Kong investor Samathur Li Kin-kan is suing Italian fund manager Raffaele Costa over losses incurred through the latter’s robo-advisory service, where investment decisions are made entirely through…
Former Canopius executive Linus Phoon has been appointed as the new head for Singapore and southeast Asia by Munich Re. Mr Phoon will be based in Singapore, reporting to Roland Eckls, Munich Re’s chief executive for Asia-Pacific. In his new role, Mr Phoon will be responsible for leading the firm’s reinsurance business in the region, including both insurance coverage and…
Investment in the insurtech sector reached record highs in Q1 2019 yet there is a lack of obvious value in the many of the newest insurtech offerings, according to a recent report. The latest Quarterly Insurtech Briefing from insurance broker Willis Towers Watson (WTW) shows that the highest number of transactions yet (85 with a total value of $1.42bn) were…
Despite the apparent hardening of the insurance market following the April renewals in Japan, it is still possible for commercial risk managers to attain coverage at a good price if they can show a positive risk history and are equipped with sound risk management skills. That is according to a number of leading risk managers. In addition, risk managers have…