Foreign Insurers Reluctant to Cover Aviation Risks

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Indonesia: Foreign Insurers Reluctant to Cover Aviation Risks

A number of foreign insurance companies are no longer prepared to cover the risks of commercial airline activity in the country because of frequent accidents, an industry executive said.

Mr Zainuddin Arsyim, Aviation Sub Division Head of PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia (Jasindo) said Allianz, Pritchard and Faraday were some of the underwriters rejecting insurance covers for commercial aviation in the country. Companies such as Amlin, Ace, Qatar and LIG have decided to exit the country, while others like Munich Re and XL have become cautious, he added.

Speaking at a seminar last Monday, he attributed this to the poor safety record of the industry which have made the business of covering aviation risks no longer profitable. Mr Zainuddin said the amount of air accident insurance claims last year totalled some US$86.9 million.

He noted that insurance companies are concerned about various conditions in the Indonesian airline industry including the advanced age of most of the aircraft in use, inflated value of insured aircraft, situations involving the weather and runways, sub-standard maintenance, losses on claims affecting all areas of flight operations and the excessive number of airline companies.

Mr Zainuddin also pointed out that the situation had been exacerbated by the European Union (EU) decision to ban all Indonesian airlines from flying to EU flights in July.

He said the decisions by the foreign insurance companies could adversely affect aircraft leasing, airline company insurance premiums, obtaining insurance for Indonesian aircraft, and the number of air travellers, all of which would have an impact on the Indonesian economy as a whole. He urged the government to explain the situation to insurers, backing up the case with an analysis of aviation risks and efforts to improve conditions.

Singapore: Insurers Urged to Make Annuities Attractive

The government has urged insurance companies to come up with "creative" annuities which are attractive to people, following the recent announcement of a new scheme making such products compulsory for Singaporeans aged 50 and younger.

Minister-in-Charge of ageing issues Lim Boon Heng said insurance companies could be "a bit more creative, bearing in mind what the individuals expect". For example, "they can have variations of annuities that will pay the estate of the person in case he passes on too quickly after buying a life annuity", he said. "If those kinds of products come on the market, then more people will accept the idea of buying an annuity."

Mr Lim said he had received ideas from the public which include compulsory annuities taking the form of a state-managed basic annuity package coupled with private insurance companies offering riders over and above it. These are ideas that can be discussed, he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has given the assurance that the new compulsory annuity scheme will be flexible, basic and cheap. He also revealed that the Manpower Ministry is forming a committee to come up with proposals. The committee will be comprised of insurance industry experts, unionists, social workers and other financial figures.

Under the new scheme announced two weeks ago, annuities will be made mandatory for Singaporeans aged 50 and below. The scheme would see a small portion of their Central Provident Fund (CPF) minimum sum, or the payout members receive upon retirement, set aside to purchase a "tail-end annuity" which will kick in only when a member's minimum sum runs out.

Annuities are generally not popular among Singaporeans because of the high costs and the relatively low returns compared to other retirement funds. The new scheme has also met with resistance by some who feel they should be given a choice as to whether to buy annuities.

Thailand: Insurers Agree on Contributions To Regulator

Insurance companies have consented to the rate of contributions to be made to the Insurance Department when it becomes independent after the necessary legislation is passed, said Director-General Chantra Purnariksha.

Mrs Chantra said that if the bill has a smooth passage through the National Legislative Assembly, the new laws will be enacted promptly after their publication in the Royal Gazette. The new insurance organisation would still regulate the country's insurance industry, but will have more flexibility to do so, she added.

She said that insurance companies have agreed to the contribution rate set by the department, which is "very low" and aims to provide for effective operations and services.

All insurers will be required to pay an annual fee of no more than 0.5% of their total premiums. Part of the fee will have to be paid every quarter.

The basic fee for the general insurance businesses is 0.27% of total premiums, while life insurers will be charged 0.18%. Any delays to payment will result in a further 2% charge. Those who decline to make the contribution will face fines of between 100,000 baht (US$3,000) and 1 million baht.

The new organisation is expected to receive income of 575 million baht in its first year of operations. If it finds that it has enough money to operate efficiently, it will stop collecting contributions.

South Korea: Insurance Crime Rose 30% in 1H

More than 15,000 insurance crimes were uncovered in the first half of the year, up nearly 30% from a year earlier and involving a total of 113 billion won (US$122 million), said the FSS.

The total number of criminal cases included cases of fraud and false reports, according to the FSS. Ninety-seven billion won, or 86% of the total, was associated with non-life insurance firms, while 16 billion won was associated with life insurers.

However insurers managed to recover 23 billion won that had been paid out while other firms were able to avoid paying 90 billion won to insurance scammers.

The FSS said insurers' efforts to curb criminal activities along with stricter state monitoring activities helped uncover the cases.

Global: RMS Estimates Up To US$1.5 Bln Insured Losses from Hurricane Dean

Insured losses from Hurricane Dean, which made landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico last Tuesday, are likely to range between US$ 0.75 billion and US$1.5 billion, according to latest estimates by Risk Management Solutions (RMS).

Of this, only up to US$300 million is expected to be from damage to the Mexican coast, with most of the remainder resulting from the storm's destruction in Jamaica.

Hurricane Dean - the first category 5 storm since 2005, with wind speeds of around 160 miles per hour - struck the south-eastern Yucatan Peninsular coast in a relatively sparsely populated area approximately 40 miles northeast of Chetumal. Had the storm tracked 150 miles north it would have impacted the bustling tourist cities of Cancun and Cozumel, tripling the insured loss in Mexico.

"Dean has taken an extraordinarily fortunate track, slipping between St Lucia and Martinique and striking a scarcely populated area of the Mexican coast. Given its intensity, the Caribbean and Winward Islands have faired relatively well," commented Dr Claire Souch, Senior Director of Model Management at RMS. "Though Jamaica has taken a large hit, the track for a category 5 storm could hardly have been better planned to minimize the damage."

She added: "Dean's impact in Mexico will be similar to Hurricane Emily's in 2005, which was a category 4 storm and caused around $250 million of insured loss. If Dean had made landfall in the north of the Yucatan Peninsular coast, we could have been looking at a near repeat of Hurricane Wilma, which devastated the area and resulted in insured losses of some $1.8 billion."

AIR Worldwide has estimated that insured losses in Jamaica would not exceed US$1.5 billion, while Eqecat said that insured losses may amount to US$2 billion.