edition
• Surer, Fusion Specialty, and Anapi launched 'AgentGuard Pro', the first product to offer Professional Indemnity insurance for General Insurance Agents in Singapore.
• Coverage includes inquiry costs, public relations expenses, and costs linked to sub-contractors and consultants.
• Product is underwritten by Fusion Specialty, with Surer providing its distribution platform, and Anapi its brokerage expertise.
• Honey Insurance raised AU$108m (US$71.3m) in a Series A funding round, the third-largest for an Aussie tech startup.
• The funding round was led by Gallatin Point Capital, a US-based private investment firm.
• By using smart home sensors to mitigate common preventable claims like fires, water leaks and theft, Honey Insurance is able to lower premiums.
• The funding surge indicates confidence in the insurtech’s technology-enabled approach to addressing Australia’s home insurance affordability crisis through improved risk assessment.
• The semiconductor industry, crucial to Taiwan's economy, faced only temporary disruptions from the island's 7.4 magnitude earthquake on 3 Apr.
• Swift recovery credited to strategic location choices and post-1999 earthquake infrastructure and procedure upgrades.
• However, potential risks include damage to machinery or wafers could still delay manufacturing, affecting global supply chains and possibly leading to price increases.
• Life Insurance Code Compliance Committee (Life CCC) released its Annual Data and Compliance Report.
• Report shows a 9% increase in total breaches of Code obligations, marking the third year of consecutive growth.
• However, the number of customers impacted by these breaches decreased by 47%, from 199,720 to 106,266.
• Four insurers were responsible for 90% of the reported breaches.
• Breaches related to claims handling obligations rose by 18%.
• 79% of breaches were related to human-related causes.
• Taiwan's FSC approves new electric vehicle (EV) insurance rules, effective from 1 July 2024.
• Rules aim to address unique risks and higher repair costs associated with EVs and follow recommendations by ROC P&C Insurance Association.
• New clauses cover vehicle damage from accidents, but exclude damage from battery combustion or explosion. However insureds can be covered through additional riders.
• Standard vehicle insurance contracts updated to exclude EVs.
• New reference rates for EVs are expected by the second quarter of 2024.
• Data and analytics provider Verisk announced the launch of its Next Generation Models (NGM).
• The NGM suite includes over 100 natural catastrophe models, including for the APAC region.
• The models aim to provide a more accurate and complete perspective on nat cat risk assessment for (re)insurers.
• Features include enhanced technical price estimates, refined risk differentiation for sub-perils, and improved tail risk representation.
• AM Best affirms CMB Wing Lung Insurance's (CMBWLI) IFS at 'A' (Excellent) and ICR at 'a' (Excellent), with a stable outlook.
• CMBWLI, a non-life insurer based in Hong Kong, focuses on employees' compensation, motor, and property lines of business.
• On 30 Dec 2022, CMBWLI acquired China Merchants Insurance's (CMI) general insurance operations, expanding its portfolio, especially in marine insurance.
• China Merchants Insurance Holdings injected HKD 1.17bn (US$150m) into CMBWLI on 28 June 2023.
Cedric Declercq has been with the specialty (re)insurer for 12 years.
