All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Change sweeps through US health insurance
Change sweeps through US health insurance In an analysis that points to health insurance in the US becoming increasingly unaffordable, management consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) projects that up to 60 percent of privately insured Americans 120 million people will be enrolled in some form of high-cost health insurance plan by 2020
Not all UK consumers mesmerised by protection product costs
UK consumers are not as focused on the price of protection products as advisers may think, concluded insurance industry executives attending a round-table debate hosted by insurer PruProtect Consumers are starting to move away from price and to place more importance on what really matters to them, Sammy Rubin, CEO of PruProtect, told attendees Supporting Rubins contention are findings of a survey undertaken by PruProtect that found 42 percent of consumers consider the extent of cover is what matters to them most when buying protection, with just 25 percent admitting they are led by price
Variable annuities sales stall in US
Reflecting uncertainty among consumers, net sales of variable annuities (VA) in the US in the second quarter of 2008 slumped by 13.4 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007 to $7.5 billion, according to VA industry body the National Association of Variable Annuities (NAVA) VA market performance in the second quarter of 2008 also contrasted sharply with that in the previous quarter when a 12.3 percent increase in year-on-year net sales was recorded Combined, net sales in the two quarters reflected a 2.5 percent decrease (to $14.72 billion) compared with the first half of 2007.
China boosts bancassurance
Development of bancassurance in China has received a boost following the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the countrys insurance regulator, China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), and the bank regulator, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) In a release, the CBRC said the MoU will deeply strengthen business cooperation between banking and insurance sectors and the cross-sector supervisory co-operation The CBRC said the agreement had been reached on six aspects of the investment by banks in insurers and insurers in banks including review and approval procedures for cross investments and regulatory functions and responsibilities.
FSA dishes out more PPI punishment
Liverpool Victoria Banking Services (LVBS), a unit of UK life insurer LV, has learnt a costly lesson for what UK regulatory body the Financial Services Authority (FSA) termed serious failings in the sale of single premium payment protection insurance (PPI) Joining a growing list of errant PPI product suppliers LVBS has been fined £840,000 ($1.68 million) by the FSA for contraventions that occurred between 14 January 2005 and 8 August 2007. The FSA explained that when customers phoned LVBS to apply for a personal loan, LVBS added the cost of PPI to the quotation without the customer asking for it
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Landmark alliance marks first foray by China’s giant insurers into global markets
Landmark alliance marks first foray by Chinas giant insurers into global markets In a deal that heralds the arrival of Chinas giant insurers in Western insurance markets, Ping An, Chinas second-largest life insurer, has bought a 4.18 percent strategic stake in Belgian-Dutch bancassurer Fortis The investment, made via the purchase of shares in the secondary market, makes Ping An Fortiss largest shareholder and, based on Fortiss market capitalisation of about 48.5 billion ($71 billion), its stake worth 2 billion
Ping An’s costly learning curve
Ping Ans costly learning curve A year ago Ping An, Chinas second-largest life insurer, trumpeted its 5 percent equity stake in Belgo-Netherlands bancassurer Fortis acquired for $3.5 billion as a major step in its goal of becoming a major player in global financial markets Its an investment Ping An has come to regret in the wake of Fortis near-demise and lead it to seriously question its future strategy.
An unfinished growth story
Polands emergence as a free enterprise economy and accession to the European Union has spurred dynamic growth in its life insurance industry, now the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe In less than a decade Polands life insurance industry has emerged as one of Europes big success stories with premium income rising from PLN7 billion ($3.1 billion) in 2000 to PLN27.8 billion in 2007, a CAGR of 21.8 percent
Franklin Templeton and China Life launch new joint venture
Franklin Templeton and China Life launch new joint venture A new asset management joint venture (JV) formed in Hong Kong has brought together two of the worlds largest financial institutions, China Life and US asset management company Franklin Templeton Investments
ING revs up its image
ING revs up its image With the 2007 Formula One (F1) racing season just ended, Netherlands bancassurer ING Group is upbeat about the results of its first year of sponsorship of the ING Renault F1 Team