All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Tackling the HIV-AIDS challenge
South Africa holds the unenviable record of having the worlds highest prevalence of HIVAIDS Given the absence of long-term actuarial data, insuring HIV-positive people represents a major challenge for life insurers and one that they are tackling with a growing range of innovative products South Africa is home to almost 14 out of every 100 of the 38.6 million people afflicted by HIVAIDS worldwide, according to estimates made by UNAIDS, an agency of the United Nations
US policyholders’ insolvency safety net
A question being asked by an increasing number of US consumers is: What happens if my life insurer goes bankrupt The answer has been provided by the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHIGA), a voluntary association made up of the life and health insurance guaranty associations of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico According to NOLHIGA when a life insurance company encounters financial difficulty and is unable to meet its obligations, the insurance commissioner in the companys home state initiates a process dictated by the laws of the state whereby every attempt is first made to help the company regain financial stability
Boom times predicted for China’s health insurers
A rising standard of living and strong backing from the government are set to drive rapid growth in Chinas private health insurance market, predicts German health insurer Deutsche Krankenversicherung (DKV) The prediction comes as DKV, a unit of German reinsurer Munich Res subsidiary, ERGO Insurance Group, marks its 10th year of involvement in Chinas private health insurance market. According to DKV Chinas private health insurance market has the potential to generate total premium income of CNY60 billion ($8.6 billion) by 2010 and CNY120 billion by 2015.
UK facing catastrophic retirement crisis, warns panel of experts
UK facing catastrophic retirement crisis, warns panel of experts Additional declines in personal saving are inevitable in the UK and will increase the potential for a catastrophic income and retirement crisis in the country; this stark warning comes from the Prudential Retirement Income Panel, a group of independent financial advisers (IFA), industry product providers and retirement experts convened by UK insurer Prudential to assess problems in the retirement arena and potential solutions.
Fortis and Ping An consolidate their relationship
The ambition of Chinas second largest life insurer, Ping An, to become a major player in global financial markets has taken a significant step forward with a landmark deal that will see it acquire a 50 percent stake in the global asset management unit of Belgo-Netherlands bancassurer Fortis for 2.15 billion ($3.39 billion) The deal follows Ping Ans purchase of a 4.18 percent equity stake in Fortis in November 2007, a move that made it Fortis largest shareholder Subsequently increased to 4.99 percent, Ping Ans stake in Fortis is worth about 1.6 billion.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Australian investors in dash to safety
Australian investors in dash to safety Well-meant but hastily-conceived measures aimed at solving one problem in financial markets can often lead to other severe market dislocations not originally anticipated This is the unfortunate situation in Australia, created by the governments announcement on 12 October that it would guarantee all deposits in the countrys banks and non-bank authorised deposit-taking institutions for the next three years.
Mapfre advances growth strategy
Moves in this direction came in quick succession and have this year included Mapfres acquisition of an 80 percent stake in Turkeys tenth-largest general insurer, Genel Sigorta, for 285 million ($414 million) and an investment of 197 million to establish a joint venture life and pensions business with Spanish bank Bankinter
MetLife boosts its reverse mortgage market capabilities
US insurer MetLife has taken a step forward in its strategy of growing its share of the potentially vast US reverse mortgage market with the acquisition of EverBank Reverse Mortgage (ERM) from its parent company EverBank Financial ERM will become a division or operating subsidiary of Metlifes wholly-owned unit MetLife Bank which entered the reverse mortgage market in 2007.
AEGON takes another big step
AEGON takes another big step Netherlands insurer AEGONs aggressive growth strategy, which has been characterised by a spate of acquisitions and new alliances in recent months, was taken another step forward in August with the announcement that it was to acquire US investment bank Merrill Lynchs two life insurance companies, Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Company and ML Life Insurance Company of New York, for $1.3 billion in cash
US Senate blocks discrimination
On 24 April the US Senate unanimously approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), legislation that Senator Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, termed the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences. The GINA addresses an issue being debated in many countries: the right of an individual to take advantage of technology that will determine whether or not they have a genetic predisposition to serious illnesses such as cancer without fear of discrimination by health insurers and employers