Posts Tagged ‘insurance’
Kansas insurance commissioner urges soldiers returning from Iraq to review …
January 2, 2012
TOPEKA, Kan. — The top insurance regulator in Kansas says military personnel returning from Iraq should review their life insurance coverage
Praeger says veterans who want to supplement that coverage or move to private coverage need to examine whether policies exclude coverage for war-related deaths or deaths that occur in traveling on noncommercial aircraft.
Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger (PRAY’-guhr) also is offering tips to military families in case they consider altering their coverage. For example, she notes that people soliciting insurance sales on military bases must have permission from the U.S. Defense Department.
The U.S. Veterans Administration already offers low-cost life insurance coverage of up to $400,000 to service members on active duty, and it allows them to switch that coverage to a different program for veterans after they leave active duty.
Praeger says veterans who want to supplement that coverage or move to private coverage need to examine whether policies exclude coverage for war-related deaths or deaths that occur in traveling on noncommercial aircraft.
Market Report, "AIA Korea: Company Profile and SWOT Analysis", published
January 2, 2012
2012-01-02 01:00:14 – New Financial Services market report from World Market Intelligence: “AIA Korea: Company Profile and SWOT Analysis”
This SWOT analysis and company profile is a crucial resource for industry executives and anyone looking to gain a better understanding of the company’s business.
WMI’s ‘AIA Korea: Company Profile and SWOT Analysis’ report utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary sources, which are analyzed and presented in a consistent and easily accessible format.
WMI strictly follows a standardized research methodology to ensure high levels of data quality and these characteristics guarantee a unique report.
Key Highlights
AIA Korea is a provider of life insurance products and services. The company offers products such as accident insurance, family insurance, savings insurance, health insurance, term life insurance, medical and dental insurance and child care insurance. It also provides financial services such as consultations and financial
advice. The company offers these product and services through different channels such as master plan channel, which includes the service of financial consulting experts; direct channel comprising of telemarketing and direct channels of insurance products; bancassurance channel, which offers pension plans, stock quotes and financial instruments and bank-specific marketing strategies; hybrid Channel, which offers a combination of services of all channels to suit consumers needs; and group sales channels specializing in group insurance and group corporate sales. AIA Korea is a subsidiary of American International Assurance Company Limited. The company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
Full Report Details at
– www.fastmr.com/prod/290695_aia_korea_company_profile_and_swot_an ..
Scope
* Examines and identifies key information and issues about ‘AIA Korea’ for business intelligence requirements
* Studies and presents the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities (growth potential) and threats (competition). Strategic and operational business information is objectively reported
* The profile also contains information on business operations, company history, major products and services, prospects, key employees, locations and subsidiaries
Reasons to Purchase
* Quickly enhance your understanding of the company
* Gain insight into the marketplace and a better understanding of internal and external factors which could impact the industry
* Recognize potential partnerships and suppliers
Report Table of Contents:
1 Business Analysis
1.1 Company Overview
1.2 Business Description
1.3 Major Products and Services
2 SWOT Analysis
2.1 SWOT Analysis – Overview
2.2 Strengths
2.3 Weaknesses
2.4 Opportunities
2.5 Threats
3 History
4 Key Employees
5 Appendix
5.1 Methodology
5.2 Disclaimer
List of Tables
Table 1: Major Products and Services
Table 2: History
Table 3: Key Employees
About World Market Intelligence
World Market Intelligence publishes in-depth strategic intelligence reports across many key industries. WMI’s reports draw on in-depth primary and secondary research, proprietary databases and high quality analysis from their expert teams. Data and analysis at the company, country and industry level includes competitor and market data, valuations, trends and forecasts. View more research from World Market Intelligence at www.fastmr.com/catalog/publishers.aspx?pubid=1023
About Fast Market Research
Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world’s top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.
For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.
Posted in Life Assurance Information | 
Tags: american international assurance, american international assurance company, Analysis, insurance, insurance term life, Intelligence, intelligence requirements, Life Assurance, life insurance products, market, primary and secondary sources, seoul south korea, term life insurance
Operators kick against mixing insurance fund with annuity fund
December 31, 2011
By Rosemary Onuoha
Some operators in the insurance sector have called on their colleagues to desist from mixing up the funds from their regular business with funds from the annuity business, noting that such act is unprofessional.
Managing Director, Standard Life Assurance Limited, Austin Enajemo warned his colleagues to desist from such unscrupulous actions.
According to Enajemo, regulation demands that the funds should not be merged; hence operators engaging in such unholy act should desist from such and obey regulation by separating the funds.
Invariable, Enajemo called on workers to the contributory pension scheme to embrace life insurance companies that comply with regulation when they want to get annuity plan.
According to him, “ Section 4 subsection ( I) of the Pension Act states that a holder of a retirement savings account upon retirement or attaining the age of 50 years, whichever is later, shall utilise the balance standing to the credit of his retirement savings account for the following benefits, (a) programmed monthly or quarterly withdrawals calculated on the basis of an expected life span; (b) annuity for life purchased from a life insurance company licensed by the National Insurance Commission with monthly or quarterly payments; and a lump sum from the balance standing to the credit of his retirement savings account: provided that the amount left after that lump sum withdrawal shall be sufficient to procure an annuity or fund programmed withdrawals that will produce an amount not less than 50 per cent of his annual remuneration as at the date of his retirement.”
Meanwhile pension fund operators are set to prevent insurance companies with relatively low capital base from providing annuity for retirees even as they are all out to ensure that pension funds remitted to insurance companies for the provision of annuity for retirees are not merged with their core operational funds but kept separately.
The move, according to them is to check incidents of non-payment of annuity claims at maturity.
Mr. Dave Uduanu, Chairman of Pension Operators Forum said that only financially robust insurance companies should be allowed to engage in the provision of annuity for retirees under the contributory pension scheme.
Uduanu said that it is important that funds remitted to insurance companies for annuity be closely monitored and properly managed so that retirees will not lose their investment.
According to him, “It is important that annuities be closely monitored and the fund should not be mixed with other funds of insurance companies. A company with low capital base should not be allowed to engage in the business of providing annuity because should there be issues with their capital base, retirees will suffer unduly.”
He stressed that there should be relationship between a company’s capital base and its provision of annuity because if an insurance company with a low capital base that provides annuity suffers erosion of capital, where will such company get money to service its annuity obligation.
“Annuity funds should be closely monitored, managed and safeguarded just the way pension funds are managed,” he said.
Top tips for military personnel buying insurance
December 30, 2011
You are admirably serving your country and in doing so, achieving what most people won’t achieve in a life time, so of course you deserve to reap some benefits. Military discounts are a common way for companies to entice customers, particularly with insurance, so below we have outlined some tips for benefitting from cheaper insurance if you are in the military.
1 Shop around – As there are so many deals available for people serving in the military, you may be spoilt for choice. You can use a price comparison sites which allow you to compare service life insurance quotes quickly and easily, to give you assurance that your family has cover while you’re serving your country. You may need to double check what the military relevant benefits are in each option.
2 Don’t be afraid/ embarrassed to say that you are in the military – Some companies will offer military discounts that they don’t actively advertise, so it’s worth asking when you get a quote.
3 Remember you can get cheaper wedding insurance – Military weddings differ to other weddings in that there is the added risk of cancellation due to emergency and unavoidable Armed Forces postings, so make sure you are covered. There are many insurance companies that cover wedding insurance but as with all aspects of your wedding, you want to make sure that you work with a company that can tailor to your needs.
4 Remember you can get cheaper travel insurance – Whether you are visiting home, relaxing on the shores of the Seychelles or trekking in the Himalayas, remember that there are military discounts to be had on travel insurance. It’s important to know that all your trips are covered due to changes in circumstances that a career in the military can often present.
5 Value your life – Most service personnel benefit from their death in service benefits attached to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme. However, you may look at increasing your level of life insurance cover depending upon your circumstances. More than anything you will want to know that your family is financially protected by Military life insurance, in case the worst did occur and this doesn’t need to cost the earth. Companies such as Trinity Insurance can provide cover for as little as £10.05 per month and this can provide up to £100,000 of cover. Once the cover is in place, if you are then subsequently posted to an area of conflict there will be no need to panic buy as your cover will already be secured.
The main thing to know is that you can have peace of mind and know that you are covered without breaking the bank.
Life insurance premium mop-up down 19% in Apr-Nov
December 28, 2011
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However, premium collected by general insurers rises 24%.
Premium collection numbers by the life insurance industry remain south-bound, as policy issuances by the industry continue to decline in the current financial year.
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During the April-November period, the number of policies issued by the 23 life insurance players shrunk 12.45 per cent, resulting in a fall of almost 19 per cent in premium collection at Rs 62,429 crore, compared with Rs 76,990 crore collected in the same period a year ago.
According to data collected by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, during 2011-12, the life insurance industry sold 23.07 million policies, compared with 26.35 million policies last year. This was largely due to fewer policies sold by private players, from 6.99 million in the year-ago period to 4.75 million, a decline of 32 per cent.
The largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, too, saw policy issuances decline by 5.3 per cent to 18.31 million.
During the April-November period, premium collection by LIC fell 17.57 per cent, while for its private peers, the collection was down 22.4 per cent. While LIC collected Rs 45,759 crore by writing new policies, private insurers collected Rs 16,670 crore.
Considering the choppy equity market and the high inflationary environment, sales of unit-linked insurance products are unlikely to pick up in the current financial year. Experts fear the growth of the life insurance industry is likely to remain subdued over the next six to 12 months.
General insurers grow 24%
The general insurance industry continues to see steady growth, as the gross written premium rose 24.3 per cent during 2011-12, compared to the previous year.
According to data collected by insurers, the general insurance industry collected premiums worth Rs 37,360 crore by writing new policies during the April-November period, against Rs 30,047 crore last year.
While private insurers registered a growth of 26.8 per cent at Rs 15,555 crore, the four state-owned general insurance companies’ collection was higher by 22.7 per cent at Rs 21,805 crore.
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Posted in Life Assurance Information | Tags: adnum, cent, client id, collection numbers, facebook, google, insurance, insurance premium, Life Assurance, life insurance industry, snippet, text ads
‘Terrorism raises life insurance claims’
December 26, 2011
The effects of terrorism, especially by the Boko Haram group- the sect, whose Hausa name means “Western education is a sin” – is having a toll on the claims profile of life insurers, The Nation has learnt.
The Managing Director Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, Mr Austin Enajemo, disclosed this in a chat with The Nation.
He said the rise in claims settlement could be as a result of the shock people got from incidences associated to terrorist act.
Enajemo said the company has settled claims running into millions of naira this year, adding that though terrorism and other natural disasters are excluded in most insurance clauses, their effects affect the normal services provided by underwriters.
He noted that an insured that died as a result of shock from terrorism must be indemnified, though the death cannot be said to be caused directly by incidences such as bomb blast and other terrorist acts.
Enajemo said the company has settled both death and medical claims of victims of April general election, adding that N650,000 each was paid to victims covered by the policy taken by the Independent Nation Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said: “Insurance cover risks, but there are always exclusions. If you have a special policy that covers terrorism, and you are affect by it, you would be properly indemnified. But in most of our products, we have exclusion clause. If you are covered against natural death, things that have to do with war, we exclude them. But if it is with mutual agreement we will provide the cover. But also note that there is nothing that happens in the economy that does not affect everybody. “Therefore, either by a way of shock from activities of terrorist act – Boko Haram – a natural death would occur. If somebody dies by a natural cause, unknown to the insurer that it is as a result of shock from terrorism, would we not pay the claims? Therefore, we are directly or indirectly affected.”
DTC changes may impact life insurance products
December 25, 2011
The new Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010, if implemented in the proposed form, will be detrimental to the interests of individual insurance policy-holders.
The Direct Tax Code (DTC) is proposed to be introduced as a Bill in Parliament’s winter session. The proposed DTC, if passed, will replace the existing Income-Tax act of 1961 and will come into force from April 1, 2012. However, the proposed new Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010, if implemented in the proposed form, will be detrimental to the interests of individual policy-holders in insurance companies.
Under the proposed DTC Bill 2010, deduction for payment towards a typical life insurance cover is allowed if the premium paid in any of the years during the policy term does not exceed 5 per cent of the capital sum assured under the policy.
This proposed cap of 5 per cent will deny benefits to large number of policyholders. For an individual aged 30, the minimum term will be around 21- 22 years and for 40 years and above, the term will be 28 years or more.
This will lead to inequity, as for the same term and sum assured, the tax exemption would be available to, say, a 30-year-old person, but not to 40-year-ld person because of higher term insurance content.
Thus, a policyholder of higher age will be forced to pay premiums beyond his working age.
To ensure that life insurance products are long term, there is a minimum lock-in period of five years. The IRDA, in its recommendation to the CBDT, has suggested that only those policies should be allowed for deductions which have a minimum maturity period of 10 years.
Hence, it will be prudent to revise the minimum term of policies to 10 years irrespective of the frequency of premium paid during the term.
Shared allocation
In DTC Bill 2010, a separate window of a much lower amount of Rs 50,000 has been prescribed for life insurance premiums, tuition fees and health insurance premiums.
With increasing costs of education and healthcare services, much of this small limit would be utilised, leaving little space for life insurance premium. Thus, this shared allocation, actually tries to further undermine the importance of life insurance as an asset class and deprive the benefit of social security to the policyholders.
However, the proposed Bill provides a total exemption up to Rs 1 lakh for investments in long-term savings such as Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and New Pension System (NPS) with no prescribed minimum holding period for investment in these instruments.
It will be desirable to provide a limit of Rs 1,00,000 for life insurance premiums/annuities too.
Also, there are now approximately 31 crores of in-force policies and the persons holding these policies would be substantially affected if the proposed Bill is implemented in its current form, since DTC Bill 2010 does not specify grandfathering of existing policies.
Need for parity
Under the current tax regime, Section 80CCC of the Income-Tax Act 1961 provides for deduction in respect of premiums paid under IRDA approved pension fund/annuity plan. This deduction is allowed up to the aggregate limit of Rs 100,000, considering deduction under Section 80C as well.
However, under the proposed tax regime (DTC), only that amount received under NPS, which is used to buy an annuity plan, will not be taxable in the year of such receipt.
Similar provision needs to be inserted for annuity received by the policyholder from a life insurance company so as to bring parity in long term saving products.
One does get a feeling that the thinkers in the tax planning divisions feel that long-term savings through life insurance is less important for the economy than savings through Employee Provident fund, Public Provident fund and the New Pension Scheme, with the latter being incentivised through fiscal incentives.
(The author is Secretary General of Life Insurance Council. The views are personal.)
Some compelling reasons to buy life and health insurance – PR
December 25, 2011
Posted in Life Assurance Information | Tags: Health, health insurance, insurance, Life, Life Assurance
Should NRIs buy life insurance in India?
December 24, 2011
Life insurance has been a traditional investment favorite in India and most Indians are likely to hold at least one, if not more, life insurance policies. If you are a Non Resident Indian (NRI), you may have bought a policy while you were a Resident Indian or you may be considering buying one as an NRI. Let’s take a look at the rules relating to buying life insurance in India. The rules regarding insurance are governed by Exchange Control Manual.
Can an NRI buy life insurance in India? Yes, NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) (as defined by FEMA) who are resident abroad are allowed to buy life insurance in India. Thus, all persons of Indian origin, whether citizens of India or not are allowed to take a life insurance policy in India.
Does the NRI have to be present in India at the time of buying the policy? No, the NRI can purchase the policy from overseas through written communication with the insurance company in India. There may be certain additional costs in such case. For instance, if you purchase the policy from abroad, you would have to do the medical examination and send the report to the insurance company in India. You would have to bear the costs of this medical examination yourself. However if you purchase the policy in India, you would not have to bear this cost as it would be inbuilt in the cost of your policy.
How can premiums be paid? An NRI can pay premiums by any of these modes: 1. Remittance in foreign currency 2. NRO bank account 3. NRE/ FCNR bank account Elizabeth Venkataraman, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance says, “Insurance companies are allowed to issue policies denominated in either Indian rupees or foreign currency to NRIs. If the policy is foreign currency denominated, the premiums are to be collected in foreign currency from abroad or out of NRE/FCNR accounts of the insured or insured’s family members held in India. For rupee denominated policies issued to NRIs, funds held in NRO accounts are to be used to pay premiums.” However, do remember that not all insurance companies offer foreign currency denominated polices.
Are premiums higher for NRIs as compared to resident Indians? Are there any limits on the sum assured? “No,” says Surat based VK Virani, an agent of the Life Insurance Corporation and an MDRT ‘Court of Table’ member. “The premiums are the same for residents and non residents. However, if NRIs are living in countries where risks are higher, premiums maybe higher.”
As for the sum assured, Virani explains, “In case of LIC policies, if the NRI chooses to conduct his medical examination in the foreign country, the sum assured will be limited to Rs 1 crore. If the NRI has his medical examination done on a visit to India, then he can get a higher cover.”
What are the rules regarding death and maturity proceeds? The insurance policy purchased in India will cover death that occurs anywhere in the world. Maturity and death proceeds are repatriable to the extent of premium paid in foreign currency in relation to the total premium paid. If premiums are paid fully in Indian rupees through the NRO account, the death or maturity proceeds will not be repatriable. If policy was taken before becoming NRI, Venkataraman explains, “This does not affect the status of the policy and the proceeds remain repatriable to the extent of premium paid in foreign currency in relation to the total premium paid. ”
Should an NRI buy life insurance in India? Having seen the rules and regulations of buying life insurance in India, it is important for NRIs to evaluate if they should indeed buy life insurance in India. There are a few things to consider here:
1. Cost Will the policy be cheaper in the country of residence? As a broad benchmark, a healthy 40-year-old man who buys a 20-year level term policy in the US, which has a fixed annual premium, might pay about $800 a year to secure a $500,000 death benefit. The same policy, that is, 20 year term policy with a sum assured of Rs 2.5 crore will cost over Rs 1 lakh per annum.
2. Tax regulations In India, benefits from a life insurance policy, including earnings, whether on death or maturity are treated as tax-free. However, since an NRI will have to pay tax on his global income in his country of residence and the taxability of this global income would be on the basis of the tax laws prevailing in the country of his residence, he must look closely at tax provisions in his country of residence. In the US for instance, taxation of life insurance proceeds is quite complicated. Death benefits are tax-free to the extent of the sum assured or life cover. Any amount over and above the sum assured, such as bonuses will be taxed. Similarly, there are certain rules regarding withdrawals from a policy. The cash value of life insurance is allowed to grow on a tax deferred basis, that is, earnings are taxed only on withdrawal. In certain cases withdrawals maybe tax free to the extent of premiums paid till date of withdrawal.
To sum up, Venkataraman says, “The choice is entirely personal. However, NRIs are advised to take into consideration, tax laws in force at the location where they are currently resident before buying a policy in India.”
Tokio Marine Debuts US Life Market
December 24, 2011
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (TKOMY”TKOMY) is set to make a debut entry in the U.S. Life insurance market with its announcement to acquire US-based Delphi Financial Inc. (DFG”DFG). Tokio Marine is prepared to pay $2.7 billion for the acquisition.
Delphi specializes in selling workers’ compensation and group-life insurance products. The purchase price represents a 71% premium, based on the 20-day average price of Delphi’s publicly traded Class A shares.
According to the Tokio Marine management, the deal will increase the profit contribution from overseas businesses, from 37% to 46%.
The Japanese insurer is comfortable in quoting such a high premium as it is aggressively pursuing diversification of its business beyond the domestic territory. In the current scenario, the life insurance market in Japan is not likely to register strong growth owing to an aging population and a maturing market.
It is not only the life insurance sector that is subject to such headwinds, the non-life insurance sector also has its share of challenges to deal with. With the aging of the Japanese population, the number of vehicles insured and other factors that drive motor insurance, a mainstay product (of non-life insurance sector), are likely to decrease.
Moreover, non-life insurance industry is subject to an array of issues and changes in the environment. Non-life insurers have had to confront challenges such as the financial crisis of 2008, which resulted in dramatic changes, and a matured non-life insurance market.
Natural calamities such as the East Japan earthquake in 2011, which caused unprecedented damage, further added to the list. In this situation, penetrating overseas markets is a key to growth, primarily for large companies. This is attested by a series of alliances and mergers that have taken place in the industry since 2000.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tokio Marine will benefit from a large U.S. insurance market, which is pegged at about 89 trillion yen by Bloomberg. Also, given the mature state of the non-life insurance market in Japan, companies in the sector have been expanding their overseas businesses, especially in emerging Asian markets where growth rates are remarkably high.
Tokio Marine has been on an international expansion spree recently. The deals inked include an agreement for a joint venture life and non-life insurance company in Saudi Arabia, setting up of the Canton branch of its Chinese Subsidiary, opening an office in Cairo and getting an approval for the establishment of a Jiangsu branch of its Chinese subsidiary.