Health Insurance Exchange Subsidy Programs - Changing Face Of Distribution

Health Insurance Exchange Subsidy ProgramsLife insurance distribution in Asia has long been dominated by the tied-agent model. While we are convinced that this will remain an important channel for the future, we have already seen bancassurance capturing shares of up to 50 percent in some markets. Furthermore, we will continue to see alternative and broker channels grow faster than the market - although from a still very small base.Revamping The Agency ForceAsian insurers have typically built up large "tied" agency sales forces that rely heavily on relationship-based selling. These agents are often managed in a multilevel marketing, or pyramid,...

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Alliance Life Insurance Malaysia - The Rise of the Multinational Insurers in Asia

Alliance Life Insurance MalaysiaMultinational insurance companies (MNCs) are not new in Asia. The best known example is AIG, which has its roots in Shanghai, and a large presence across most of the region. However, the recent bailout of AIG by the US government in late 2008 will likely change the ending of this story. Apart from AIG and a few other large MNCs that have a true pan-Asia business, most MNCs have a much smaller footprint across Asia, and are mostly active in the financial centers of Hong Kong and Singapore. In the last decade though, we have seen a strong rise in the foreign presence in Asian insurance markets. Across all markets,...

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Nippon Life Insurance Company Japan - The Emerging Middle Class

Nippon Life Insurance Company JapanThe second trend across Asia is the rapidly changing complexion of life insurance customers. This is a trend that is more prevalent in the nascent markets of China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and describes the expansion of the insurance market into previously untapped territory. The numbers are staggering: There are 110 million households earning US$10,000 per annum in the 12 countries we studied; by 2012 there will be over 200 million. In the US there were 107 million households with the same income level in 2007 and is expected to increase to 113 million in 2012 the same year, there will be slightly more...

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Average Whole Life Insurance Rates By Age - Emerging Insurance Themes In Asia

Average Whole Life Insurance Rates By AgeJoining an insurance company in the 1960s in Hong Kong was not an obvious choice. In fact, the industry was poorly understood, and only a few multinationals were active in the market at the time. Insurance agents had a difficult time explaining to customers what the product was about, and many viewed such agents with suspicion. It was in such an environment that Dominic Leung joined AIA (a subsidiary of MG) as an IT analyst. He remembered that "AIA was essentially run by locals - besides a few expats from the US, most of the management team consisted of Hong Kong executives." Over the years, the industry...

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