The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in Hong Kong has announced that in Q1 of 2010, gross premiums for general (non-life) insurance business grew 16.2% to HK$9.2 billion and net premiums grew 14.4% to HK$6.5 billion compared to Q1 of 2009. However, overall underwriting profits declined from HK$694 million to HK$559 million. …
Read More Hong Kong: General (Non-Life) Insurance Industry’s Q1 Gross Premiums Grow 16.2%

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has welcomed the planned creation of a new Consumer Protection & Markets Authority, which was announced by UK Chancellor, George Osborne, at his Mansion House speech on 16 June 2010 (see our previous blog here). …
Read More UK: Brokers Welcome One New Regulator

With only a few key differences to overcome, the House and Senate have hammered out several points regarding the creation of an office to monitor the insurance industry as part of the currently debated financial industry reform bill. …
Read More House and Senate Conferees Close on Establishing Federal Insurance Office; Include State Insurance Regulator on Financial Stability Oversight Council

Effective August 31, 2010, the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (“OHIC”) will impose a readability requirement for all health insurance policies to be readable at the eighth grade level measured by the Flesch-Kincade formula.  The readability requirement comes in response to Rhode Island’s low adult literacy rate, and is designed to protect consumers by making health insurance policies, which are often complicated, easy to understand. …
Read More Rhode Island Imposes Readability Standards for Health Insurance Policies

In order to tap investor expectations of a rising yuan (RMB), insurers are preparing to launch yuan-denominated policies as a new product offering for insurers in the Hong Kong market. Insurance premiums make up almost 10% of Hong Kong’s GDP, compared with just 3% of China’s GDP. …
Read More Hong Kong: Launch of Yuan-Denominated Policies in Hong Kong

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (the CIRC) has granted Lloyd’s China a licence to write direct insurance. This is in addition to Lloyd’s China’s existing reinsurance licence (granted in March 2007). The announcement was made by Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s, on 19 May 2010 at the UK Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. …
Read More China: Lloyd’s China Granted Licence to Write Direct Insurance

The IAIS has recently published a position statement analysing the potential for financial instability in the insurance sector. To view the position statement, please click here. …
Read More The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Publishes a Position Statement on Key Financial Stability Risks in Insurance

The Financial Ombudsman Service (the FOS) has recently published eight short case studies to help firms understand how complaints about sales of payment protection insurance (PPI) will be assessed. The case studies are available on the FOS website. …
Read More UK: The Financial Ombudsman Service Publishes Payment Protection Insurance Case Studies

In a letter from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the “NAIC”) to both House and Senate leaders, state insurance commissioners urged lawmakers to designate a non-voting seat for state banking, insurance and securities regulators on the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “FSOC”). …
Read More State Insurance Commissioners Make Their Case for Inclusion in the Financial Stability Oversight Counsel