All articles by Peter Johnstone
Peter Johnstone
Cambodia: positioned for growth
Cambodias booming economy coupled with a competitive workforce and a rapidly growing middle class, appear to be laying the foundations for a sustainable life insurance industry in the country
Obamacare sparks ‘can-do’ response in US
Commenting on ACA, Leslie Levinson, chair of the Healthcare Practice Group at law firm Edwards Wildman Palmer, said: Many had already accepted that change is coming, and whether the court threw out the law, in whole or in part, people were already moving in a direction to do things differently, recognising as in the UK that the way of delivering healthcare on a traditional basis has got to change.
Merger to create new Filipino life insurer
Asian Life Financial Assurance (ALFA) and Banclife Insurance are to reportedly merge, to form a single entity known as Philippine Life Financial Assurance Corporation (PhilLife) The two Philippine insurers are completing documentary requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Insurance Commission (IC), according to the Philippine Star It is said the new life insurer would have more than 24 offices in the Philippines and over 300 agents
Friends Life ‘beefs up’ CI product
Friends Life has beefed up it Protect critical illness offering by adding four new conditions that are covered and removing restrictions on pay-outs linked to terminal illnesses.
Manulife Singapore appoints chief legal officer
Nirmala Nair has been appointed chief legal and compliance officer at Manulife Singapore. Nair is responsible for the legal and compliance functions in Manulife Singapore and is part of the senior leadership team.
Poll highlights insurance gap in Canada
Over one-third of Canadians have gone, or have had a family member go, without needed health care because of insufficient insurance coverage, according to a poll The Ipsos Reid poll, carried out on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) and the Institute for Health Economics, found that 36% of respondents have gone without health care because of insufficient coverage.
Malaysia’s AmLife launches endowment range
Malaysian insurer AmLife has reportedly launched a new endowment product range named AmLife SecureBuilder, which provides life protection and also aims to enable policyholders to build up savings. AmLife CEO Paul Low said customers can chose the premium payment duration and decide when they would like to receive the maturity payout
Barclays launches Zambian life insurance business
The company says that it will provide Zambians with a range of tailored insurance products, including credit life protection on loans, funeral cover on deposit accounts, and a standalone family protection plan. Absa CEO Maria Ramos said: The Zambian regulatory environment and soundness of the countrys economic profile, with increasing levels of economic activity lends to a requirement for increased services to protect the customer
AIG to snap up Woodbury Financial Services
American International Groups (AIG) life and retirement business SunAmerica Financial Group has signed a definitive agreement with The Hartford to acquire its subsidiary, Woodbury Financial Services Woodbury Financial Services will become part of the SunAmerica Financial Groups Advisor Group when the transaction is finalised The transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of 2012, subject to required regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
MetLife’s net income doubles in Q2 2012
MetLife has announced positive Q2 results, with operating earnings of $1.43bn, up 18.18% from $1.21bn in Q2 2011 The insurer reported net income of $2.3bn in Q2 2012 more than double compared to $1.1bn in the same period last year This net income included net derivative gains of $1.4bn, after tax, largely due to falls in interest rates and the impact of MetLifes credit spreads during the quarter.