Latest Asia Headlines
All the headlines from our Asia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Global Shipping Industry Sees an End to Five-Year Downturn
Feb 10 2014 // The shipping industry is poised to emerge from its longest downturn in three decades, buoyed by an end to years of overcapacity that have depressed freight rates since the end of a shipping boom in 2008. Dry cargo ships...
SCOR’s GWP up 8% in 2013; 5% for January 1 Renewals
Feb 7 2014 // France’s SCOR Group confirmed that the reinsurer “booked 8 percent gross written premium growth (at constant exchange rates) for the full year 2013, to €4.85 billion [$6.58 billion]. SCOR Global P&C also...
Xchanging Strengthens APAC Ties with New Office in Singapore
Jan 28 2014 // Xchanging plc, the business process, procurement and technology services provider, announced an expansion of its presence in Singapore, with the opening of a second office “in the heart of the city’s thriving...
JLT Acquires Hong Kong-based Lambert Brothers Holdings
Jan 24 2014 // Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group announced that its Asia business has acquired Hong Kong-based Lambert Brothers Holdings Limited (LBH). The bulletin noted that “LBH has been an independent insurance and employee benefits...
Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $45B in 2013: Impact Forecasting
Jan 13 2014 // In 2013, there were 296 separate natural disaster events that produced total economic losses of $192 billion – four percent below the 10-year average of $200 billion, but above the average 259 events, according to a...
Nationale Suisse Granted Singapore Insurance License
Jan 9 2014 // Nationale Suisse announced that its new Singapore branch has received a license from the local authorities allowing it to insure risks directly and to offer facultative reinsurance in Singapore and other Asian markets. The...
Willis to Acquire Specialist Broker Charles Monat Limited
Jan 9 2014 // Willis Group Holdings announced that it has agreed to acquire Charles Monat Limited, a life insurance solutions adviser to high net worth clients. Willis said: “Charles Monat Limited has placed over US$13 billion in...
Catlin’s Insurance Co. Opens Singapore Branch
Jan 7 2014 // The Catlin Group Limited announced the formation of the Singapore Branch of Catlin Insurance Company Ltd. of Bermuda. Catlin Insurance Company Ltd. (Singapore Branch) writes specialty lines of direct insurance in Singapore...
Ratings: Hamilton Re, ACR Re, Bahamas First, China Taiping (NZ), Peak Re, Solid
Dec 24 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Bermuda-based Hamilton Re,...
TPP Trade Pact Misses Deadline as More Talks Planned for January
Dec 10 2013 // Ministers negotiating the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact said today they would miss a year-end deadline to complete the deal. “We identified potential landing zones for the majority of key outstanding...
Miller Appoints Angelini-Hurll for Non-Marine Treaty Reinsurance
Dec 10 2013 // UK specialist and Lloyd’s broker Miller Insurance Services LLP announced the appointment of Kieran Angelini-Hurll to “help drive the expansion of its non-marine treaty reinsurance offering and international...
Amid Asset Sale Talk, RSA CEO Sees Emerging Market Potential
Nov 21 2013 // RSA Insurance Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Simon Lee said the insurer has further growth potential in emerging markets and maintains a “robust” capital position, amid speculation it may sell assets. Lee,...
Allianz Expects Boost from Cyber Insurance Sales; East Europe, Asia, Brazil Markets
Nov 20 2013 // Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said markets such as Asia, Brazil and eastern Europe as well as products that protect against cyber risks will increase revenue at its industrial insurance unit. “New...
Bangladesh Garment Workers Protest After Two Deaths
Nov 19 2013 // Bangladesh garment workers took to the streets today in the Ashulia industrial zone outside of the capital Dhaka, protesting the second-lowest wages in Asia, after another demonstration yesterday left at least two...
Much of Eastern Asia Underinsured for Weather As Risk, Values Rising
Nov 13 2013 // Insured losses from weather-related events in Eastern Asia amount to only about 10 percent of the $700 billion in total losses accumulated over the last three decades, according to an analysis by Munich Re. According to...
Record Typhoon Again Shows Philippines Most at Risk for Natural Hazards
Nov 10 2013 // Destruction from Super Typhoon Haiyan, the most powerful storm on record to strike the Philippines, shows the task facing President Benigno Aquino to curb the death toll in a country prone to natural disasters. The...
Qatar Reinsurance Report Finds Asian Markets ‘Bustling with Confidence’
Nov 6 2013 // The first Asia Reinsurance Barometer, published by the Qatar Financial Center (QFC) Authority, concludes that the “region’s reinsurance markets are still bustling with confidence, although the outlook on...
Hyperion Insurance Head David Howden on U.S. Expansion by MGA DUAL
Oct 31 2013 // David Howden, the chief executive of the London-based Hyperion Insurance Group, founded the company in 1994, “as a business to take on wholesale products in the international market,” he explained in a...
Munich Re Says China to Remain Centerpiece of Asia Expansion
Oct 25 2013 // Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, said China will remain its biggest growth market in Asia as it considers countries such as India too unpredictable to step up investment. “Our biggest customers in...
Members of Aon Benfield’s Analytics Team Explain Cat Models
Oct 18 2013 // “Our remit at Aon Benfield Analytics is really to do the risk quantification part of reinsurance transactions,” said John Moore, the head of International Analytics operations. He’s responsible for...
