Swiss Re sets up advisory firm

Swiss Re, a diversified global insurer, has set up an advisory firm, Swiss Re Healthcare Services, in India. The new entity will focus on individual product development and corporate health schemes to assist health insurance companies in the country.

Girish Rao, former CEO of TTK Healthcare Services (the TTK Group-Swiss Re joint venture), has been appointed the managing director of the new company.

The Bangalore-based company’s product development expertise will focus on assisting health insurance providers develop comprehensive insurance products on medical expenses.

“Swiss Re Healthcare Services is designed to enhance the existing market skills in product development, pricing and risk management for the country’s growing health insurance industry,” said Jean-Michel Chatagny, managing director (Asia), Swiss Re.

The company has been operating in the country since 1998. It established Swiss Re Shared Services in Bangalore in 2001. In 2007, Swiss Re entered into a joint venture with India’s TTK Group by acquiring 26 per cent of TTK Healthcare Services.

With Girish Rao taking the new role, S Krishnamurthy has been appointed the CEO of TTK Healthcare Services.

Source: Business Standard Reporter

Swiss Re sets up advisory firm

Swiss Re, a diversified global insurer, has set up an advisory firm, Swiss Re Healthcare Services, in India. The new entity will focus on individual product development and corporate health schemes to assist health insurance companies in the country.

Girish Rao, former CEO of TTK Healthcare Services (the TTK Group-Swiss Re joint venture), has been appointed the managing director of the new company.

The Bangalore-based company’s product development expertise will focus on assisting health insurance providers develop comprehensive insurance products on medical expenses.

“Swiss Re Healthcare Services is designed to enhance the existing market skills in product development, pricing and risk management for the country’s growing health insurance industry,” said Jean-Michel Chatagny, managing director (Asia), Swiss Re.

The company has been operating in the country since 1998. It established Swiss Re Shared Services in Bangalore in 2001. In 2007, Swiss Re entered into a joint venture with India’s TTK Group by acquiring 26 per cent of TTK Healthcare Services.

With Girish Rao taking the new role, S Krishnamurthy has been appointed the CEO of TTK Healthcare Services.

Source: Reporter, Business Standard

Pvt sector general insurers corner 20% of Air India deal

MUMBAI, JUN 19: Private sector general insurance companies led by ICICI Lombard General Insurance for the first time has bagged 20% of Air India insurance renewal deal for 2007-08.
Amidst tough competition, the $4 billion Air India insurance deal has also seen a fall in the premium by almost 40% to $9 million at the time of renewal.
Led by Mumbai based New India Assurance, the four public sector general insurance companies which earlier used to hog the entire deal have managed to retain 80% of the transaction at the time of the current renewal.
The other private sector general insurance companies that have a share in the Air India deal are Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Reliance General Insurance and Iffco Tokio General Insurance. London-based reinsurers led by Ace , AIG and Global Space have reinsured the Air India deal.
Aon Global brokered the deal on behalf of PSU companies while HSBC, Independent and Willis were the main brokers for the private sector general insurance companies. Prabodh Thakkar, chairman, Aon Global when contacted, refused to divulge details of the deal.

Source: Financial Express

Tata AIG General Insurance appoints Garg as MD

MUMBAI: Tata AIG General Insurance Wednesday announced the appointment of Gaurav Garg as the managing director, effective July 1. He will succeed Michael Carlin.
Currently, Garg is the vice president - field operations, AIG, New York.
Garg was a part of the start up team of Tata AIG General Insurance Company in 2000.

Source: Times News Network

Non-life insurers getting ready for new regime

Shifting to half-yearly solvency reporting in line with global practices

Bangalore June 19 In a bid to improve solvency monitoring, non-life insurers in the country are quietly being prepared to migrate to a half-yearly reporting regime.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Chairman, Mr C.S. Rao, told Business Line, "After shifting to a deregulated tariff regime, it is necessary that solvency should also be monitored more frequently. We prefer a half-yearly audited reporting."
Currently, only life insurance companies have migrated to a quarterly reporting of solvency, beginning this financial year.
Non-life insurer's solvency reporting is still done on an annual basis though deregulation of tariff regime was introduced from the beginning of this financial year. The insurance regulator's prescribed solvency margin is 150 per cent.

Solvency margin

Solvency margin is the excess of the value of assets and capital that non-life insurers have to maintain over the insured liabilities. Mr Rao said IRDA has not yet decided on the timing of the introduction. However, the regulator is in discussion with the non-life insurers for accelerated introduction, he added.

IAIS guidelines
The reporting would be on the basis of the total balance sheet, instead of segment-wise reporting. This is an approach that has been suggested by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) in its final guidelines for migration to the Solvency II regime. The IAIS final guidelines released in February this year addresses material risks that insurers face — underwriting risk, market risk, credit risk and operational risk.
Mr Rao said IRDA shift to half-yearly monitoring was in line with global practices followed by insurance supervisors and partly in line with the IAIS guidelines.
However, this kind of monitoring would bring more volatility in capitalisation requirements of insurance companies. This is particularly in an environment where the probable maximum loss ratios could change in the event of catastrophic events, including natural calamities with consequent changes in underwriting risks.
Besides, sources said that what could also alter the capitalisation requirements would be the change in the value of the assets (market risks) particularly investments, as insurers begin shifting to a value at risk basis method of valuations. Almost all the insurers have shifted to a marked to market basis valuing of investments, though this is currently done only on an annual basis.
Already non-life insurers have been hit by depreciation in the value of government securities, and other debt securities that comprised the bulk of their investments.
A shift to half-yearly or quarterly basis, the sources said, would in turn, imply that either the insurers bring in additional capital to meet the solvency requirements or resize their insured liabilities by ceding some liabilities to reinsurers, the sources said.
Private sector insurers, to ensure compliance to the current tight solvency guidelines, are doing ceding liabilities on a large scale both to the national reinsurer GIC and to global reinsurers through the treaty and non-treaty routes - facultative or excess of loss reinsurance (spot covers).

Source: The Hindu Business Line

New CEO of AEGON Religare

New Delhi, June 19
AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Ltd, the joint venture of AEGON NV and Religare, on Tuesday announced that it has appointed Mr Rajiv Jamkhedkar as CEO. Currently, Mr Jamkhedkar is Head of Personal Lending at CitiBusiness, which focuses on the SME segment at Citibank. AEGON and Religare, a Ranbaxy Group company, have partnered to establish a life insurance company in which Religare holds a 44 per cent stake while Aegon has 26 per cent stake; Bennett & Coleman holds the rest.

Source: The Hindu Business Line