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Capita Insurance Services announces the appointment of Sue Perry as Risk Manager in its Managing General Agent (MGA) investment business. Sue will be responsible for both risk analysis and management of Capita’s developing portfolio of investments in MGAs and will report directly to John Holm, Executive Director, MGA Investments, Capita Insurance Services.

Sue has a strong background in providing services to insurance companies as part of her corporate banking roles with Clydesdale Bank and Bank Austria. In these roles she had extensive experience of assessing credit risk on corporate lending transactions as well as the subsequent risk management of portfolios.

John Holm, Executive Director, Capita MGA Investments commented: “Sue will be an important member of the MGA Investment team. Her ability to evaluate and effectively manage risk will aid our MGA clients as their businesses develop and be instrumental in the growth of Capita’s MGA investment portfolio. Capita’s unique offering to MGAs, which sees us take a minority stake while also crucially providing business process outsourcing, is proving to be a very attractive proposition through which we have developed a healthy pipeline of investment opportunities.”

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The plans of major Japanese life insurers for a modest increase in their allocation to foreign bonds – at the expense of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) – will help them bridge the period of low yields, says Fitch Ratings. We expect the change to continue until either the average interest rate on their guaranteed-return savings products falls or JGB yields rise. However, low long-term JGB yields will still hold back insurers’ progress in resolving what may be their most critical challenge this year – the mismatch between the duration of their assets and liabilities.

Fitch expects the average guaranteed interest rate on savings products to fall in line with current yields of around 1.5%-2% on 20- to 30-year JGBs in the next three to 10 years for ‘A’ rated and above companies, and over a period of longer than 10 years for ‘BBB’ rated and below companies. Any rise in JGB yields as a result of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attempts to boost growth and inflation would shorten this timeframe.

The switch to foreign-currency-denominated bonds is likely to be modest because of more stringent regulation aimed at preventing insurers from taking on too much foreign-currency risk, as well as the yen-dominated profile of most insurers’ liabilities.

The Japanese Financial Services Agency tightened its solvency margin regulation for FY11, and now Japanese insurers’ exposure to foreign currency requires a higher capital charge (10% of FX exposure). Most insurers are likely to hedge the foreign-exchange risk, which will reduce the capital charge but also the yield enhancement.

The lack of JGB supply and low yields will also slow the pace at which insurers raise their exposure to long-term JGBs to cut the duration gap between assets and liabilities. Fitch estimates this gap to be approximately five years. The sensitivity to interest rates which the gap produces makes this a major risk.

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Aria Assistance is leveraging its medical assistance expertise by offering tailored packages of care and support which can be added to a wide range of products as value-added benefits. Chief Operating Officer, Healthcare, at Aria Assistance Paul Richards said that the assistance specialist is already providing this service to PruHealth, the private medical insurer and Vitality wellness programme provider, and is looking to introduce care at home to enhance the product offering of a number of additional markets.

The Aria Assistance care at home service is an assistance-led service, delivering personalised care and support at home to individuals after an accident, an episode of ill health or hospital admission. Aria Assistance’s medically qualified triage team works with the individual and, where appropriate, medical professionals, to determine the right levels and types of support. The Aria Assistance team then arranges for the services to be delivered, calling on its nationwide network of domiciliary care providers, the only network of its size and quality in the UK.

Typically, care packages involve helping people with everyday activities which they find difficult in the early stages of recovery, especially if their partners or family members cannot be with them during working hours or if they have young children or other dependants in the home. This can include help with getting in and out of bed, bathing and showering, cooking, cleaning and laundry as well as general errands such as collecting prescriptions and shopping for provisions.

Richards said, “Our services ensure that people who may be in need of personal rather than medical care are helped in their recovery in order to get back to normal life as soon as possible.  Our unique nationwide high quality care provider network combined with our assistance capability means that customers can be assured of a well managed and supported recovery.”

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Specialist loss adjuster QuestGates has been awarded a long term contract by Sterling Insurance to act as the insurer’s liability claims department.

QuestGates will provide a dedicated claims handling unit supported by designated technical expertise, loss adjusting and associated services. This unit, which will be staffed by a mixture of existing staff and new recruits, will be located within the company’s Corporate Claims Solutions division in Birmingham and dual branded Sterling at QuestGates

Garry Simmons, Associate Director and Head of Claims at Sterling Insurance said: “We undertook a detailed process for two reasons; firstly to decide how best to structure our liability claims handling capabilities in order to respond to the MoJ reforms, and secondly to determine the best partner to bring on board to help develop our proposition. Our conclusion was that outsourcing this function would provide the best result for our business, our broker partners and their clients. The expertise and experience of the team at QuestGates together with their track record for developing bespoke solutions made them the obvious choice of partner.”

Commenting on this partnership, QuestGates Managing Director Chris Hall added: “We are delighted to have been selected by Sterling Insurance following their review process. We have worked for them for some years now and understand the tremendous importance that they place on service. We particularly like the fact that they are clear on what they want to achieve, embrace innovation, are prepared to encourage and reward results, which naturally leads to the delivery of a market leading service.”

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The first telematics based private motor insurance policy available to over 1,000 high street brokers has been created in a significant collaboration between insurance technology specialist SSP and telematics solutions expert Wunelli.  The product, named SoteriaDrive after the goddess of safety and deliverance, will be available to SSP brokers to offer their clients from the third quarter of this year.  As such, SoteriaDrive will be the first mass market telematics based insurance policy using smartphones for consumers.

Jonathan Davey, Managing Director of SSP Pure Broking and Keychoice said: “Local independent brokers are at the heart of the insurance industry and have been left out in the cold as far as telematics based private motor insurance is concerned.  This has been for valid reasons including technological barriers, systems capabilities and cost of data acquisition.  Because of this, existing telematics propositions are either direct from insurers or from large brokers with the development resource to launch propositions themselves with one insurer.

“We wanted to put that right and give our high street brokers the opportunity to include a telematics based insurance policy with mass market appeal within their product offering, and at the same time help insurers satisfy a need amongst their broker base.  SoteriaDrive represents a best of breed approach to this challenge with SSP providing the systems know-how and distribution capability, and Wunelli providing the telematics expertise. This gives insurers the confidence to provide policies to the brokers using this innovative solution.”

Brokers will be able to obtain a quotation via their existing SSP system from a panel of SoteriaDrive insurers.  Each insurer will set their own terms and conditions for the policy as usual.  Once the policy is accepted, the broker will provide a link for the client to download the SoteriaDrive app to their smartphone.  This will record their driving behaviour and allow feedback on driving performance and any adjustment to the premium.  It will also help validate claims, thereby streamlining the claims process.

Penny Searles, Managing Director of Wunelli adds: “Through this partnership we’re opening up telematics to over 1,000 SSP brokers who account for around 50% of all private car transactions in the broker market, so this is a tremendous opportunity for independent brokers.  Our apps are now 99% accurate compared to black boxes.  That’s because after 200 miles we can develop a ‘driver footprint’ based on a combination of origins, destinations and driving styles, validated and verified through GPS readings and mileage analysis to ensure the data is legitimate. We will know for example if the app is being used on a train or if it’s not the policyholder driving the vehicle.  We will also be able to tell if the customer has forgotten to turn the app on and will be able to prompt them to do so.

“The app for SoteriaDrive is our latest innovation and has been created from our learnings from over 50,000 downloaded Wunelli Driving Apps.  As well as opening up the telematics market to smaller brokers for the first time, it helps insurers answer the needs of their broker partners, and gives consumers a wider choice of options for their motor cover. Typically this proposition lends itself to the high street broker arranging cover for several cars in the household with premiums around £450.”

Graeme Trudgill, Head of Corporate Affairs at BIBA comments: “This is a significant breakthrough for brokers, giving them access to a product that specifically addresses their needs and the needs of their clients as well as an opportunity to engage with policyholders on an on-going basis.  We have been campaigning for this option to be made available for some time.  There is much potential for telematics based insurance policies within high street brokers and SoteriaDrive from SSP and Wunelli will help them realise that potential.”

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John O’Roarke, Managing Director of General Insurance at LV=, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).

O’Roarke, a current director of the IFB, was formally appointed as Chairman on 24 April and takes the reins from David Neave who stepped down as the Bureau’s Chairman after four years having left his role at Co-operative Insurance.

A chartered accountant, O’Roarke has 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry including spells at AIG, Churchill Insurance where he was Managing Director and RBS Insurance where he was Chief Operating Officer. He was a founder of ABC Insurance, which was acquired by LV= in 2006. LV= appointed O’Roarke as Managing Director of General Insurance in November 2011.

John O’Roarke, the new Chairman of the IFB, said: “Since launching in 2006, the IFB has established itself as a linchpin of the industry’s collective fight against fraud – a central hub for sharing critical fraud intelligence. Increasing investment in the IFB demonstrates the industry’s trust in the Bureau, which is projected to manage £160 million worth of organised fraud investigations by 2014.

“As Chairman of the Board, my priority is to support the executive team in achieving the targets set by the industry in our business strategy. Over the next year, we will continue to consult IFB customers and stakeholders with a view to shaping the future of the organisation.”

Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), said: “There can be no let -up in the industry’s crackdown on fraud to protect honest customers. The IFB has a key role to play in investigating fraudulent activity and working with the police to stamp out fraud. John’s appointment, combined with his chairmanship of the ABI’s Financial Crime Committee, will give added impetus to this important work.”

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AXA Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary will launch a new personal lines proposition at this year’s BIBA conference designed to give brokers greater access to underwriting, claims and sales functions.

The new strategy will deliver a personal lines proposition that will complement the current commercial lines intermediary structure, making it easier for AXA to manage a broker’s whole book of business rather than dealing with personal and commercial lines in isolation.

At heart, AXA’s strategy is centred on delivering a regional focus to create stronger, closer relationships with brokers. This has led to the complete re-structure of the sales, operations and claims service into seven regionally focused teams, each headed up by a local account manager to help build relationships and provide focused, localised support. The changes will also see the regional sales teams on the road able to respond to decisions quickly and structure deals there and then.

In addition, the account managers will be supported by a personal lines trading centre based in Ipswich, with specific regional teams who will manage trading enquiries. The account managers will also be supported by regional-specific claims teams based in Birmingham (motor) and Morecambe (household). This will deliver a consistent point of contact for all brokers, providing them with a regionally-aligned support system that understands their business and the regions they trade in.

In response to broker feedback gathered as part of the strategy development process, AXA has also created new products and enhanced existing ones to be launched at BIBA.

The household products are designed to cater for specific sectors of the market – a basic entry level product, a mass market comprehensive product and a competitively priced mid net worth product. The range is also supported by niche products and offerings, broadening AXA’s reach into the non standard household market.

The new strategy will also see AXA broadening its motor underwriting footprint with more competitive pricing and the launch of a new motor product is scheduled for September.

Karen Hogg, Managing Director, Personal Intermediary at AXA, who is overseeing the implementation of the new structure comments: “We have taken the time to listen to brokers to ensure we are providing them with the support and the products they need. We wanted to ensure that we had the right people in place to provide a consistent point of contact to brokers all around the country.

“As a company we have worked hard to ensure that both the commercial and personal lines intermediary businesses are perfectly aligned in both their structure and offering to so that brokers will find it even more attractive to do business with us.”

For more details of the personal lines strategy, Karen Hogg and her senior team will be available on stand F21 at BIBA as will the entire AXA Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary leadership team.

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Young motorists are reluctant to accept the use of telematics – black box technology – to monitor their driving and set car insurance premiums.  

Research from Deloitte, the business advisory firm, reveals 58% of 18-24 year olds are unwilling to use the technology. While some would consider telematics if their car insurance premiums were discounted, about a third (35%) of 18-24 year old car insurance buyers would not accept telematics at any discount.

Almost all (92%) of 18-24 year old olds opposed cite intrusiveness as a reason for rejecting the technology.

James Rakow, insurance partner at Deloitte, said: “Telematics has been put forward as a solution for the high costs young drivers have to pay for car insurance. In theory it is ideal for careful drivers within traditionally high-premium demographic groups and could enable them to benefit from lower premiums based on their driving.

“However, Deloitte’s analysis indicates substantial resistance to the use of telematics in general, and particularly among the very group that the technology could benefit the most. At a time when many insurers are working hard to build a telematics solution, this gives the industry some interesting feedback about how readily their products will be received by potential customers.

“Telematics accounts for about 1% of the car insurance market. To make it more popular, insurers will have to identify carefully their target audiences such as parents who care about their children’s driving and who often pay the insurance premiums.”

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QBE, the business insurance specialist, plans to further develop its book of political violence business written in South East Asia with a three year business plan for profitable growth.  Matt Bird, currently a Political Violence Underwriter in QBE’s London office, will relocate to Singapore to manage the portfolio and will make an initial move in time for the 1 July renewals.

The market for Political Violence cover in  South East Asia is growing at pace and QBE already writes a broad book of business across the region via its Lloyd’s Asia syndicate QBE Marine and Energy Services (QMES) and Syndicate 1036 in London.  Matt will continue to develop existing Lloyd’s business and will also handle risks from QBE’s regional network.

Colin O’Farrell, Chief Underwriting Officer for QBE’s Marine, Energy and Aviation division commented: “Matt’s move to Singapore is in direct response to the growing interest in political violence cover across South East Asia and also the desire there for local security and local support.  Matt’s specialism will provide the Lloyd’s market in Singapore with a unique skill and while he will continue to operate through QMES he will be able to draw on QBE Asia Pacific’s network to underwrite and support businesses in the entire region.”

Nicky Ablett, Portfolio Manager for Political Violence commented: “I believe that Matt’s expertise, coupled with dual pen capability will serve to greatly enhance our product offering to our clients across the region.”

Matt Bird said: “I am delighted to be offered this opportunity to continue to build our existing portfolio across a region with so much potential for further business development.”

Matt joined QBE in 2009 from JLT where he was Head of Terrorism.  He has over 15 year’s experience in political violence and terrorism insurance.  QBE plans to recruit a Political Violence Underwriter in the London team to replace him.

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Covéa Insurance has outlined its ambitions to significantly grow its commercial lines business and has detailed the key elements of the strategy that will drive that growth.

Covéa Insurance is looking to create a more diversified UK insurance business and strong and profitable growth of its commercial lines business is an important element of its overall strategy.  Already known for its strengths in schemes and SME, the company intends to build on its existing commercial lines offering and reposition itself as a regional mid-market insurer.

The company is already having success in winning mid-market business and has been actively engaging with well respected, independent commercial lines brokers to understand their views on what’s required to stand out from the crowd in this competitive sector.  Based on this insight, over coming months the company will be evolving its offering to position itself as a credible alternative to traditional mid-market insurers, with a proposition that’s there to help brokers win new business and grow their existing business.

The company is making significant investments in both people and infrastructure to realise its growth ambitions and deliver a compelling proposition.  The appointment of Simon Cooter as Commercial Lines Director in January, to lead the development and delivery of the commercial lines strategy, marked the start of the company’s investment programme.  Since that time Simon has been busy implementing his vision of creating a leadership team that has real market significance and one that brokers will want to work with.

Building on Covéa Insurance’s strong foundations in commercial lines, Simon has already established a core commercial lines leadership team, which has included three internal promotions, and is actively recruiting three new roles to complete his leadership team.

Having created two ‘super regions’ – one North and one South – two of the roles are for a Northern and Southern Regional Head, who will each have full P&L responsibility for all business traded in their regional area: for accelerating regional growth: and for the regional underwriting and development teams.

Simon Cooter commented: “I believe in regional autonomy, in empowering underwriters to make decisions and in making it easy for brokers to access decision makers at all levels.  These two appointments are key to creating that autonomy and ensuring that brokers have the access they need to the right people in our regional trading teams”.

The third role is for a Micro SME Leader, a traditional area of strength for Covéa Insurance.  The role will focus on further developing the company’s Micro SME business, building upon the strengths of the company’s own on-line trading platform (Broker Online), its comparative quote offering (BOS+) and the products it distributes through a number of B2B platforms.

But Covéa Insurance’s biggest investment in people will be in the development of its underwriters and its underwriting capabilities; the company recognises that providing an environment that supports regional underwriters to trade will be fundamental to its longer term success.  Additionally, the company will also be recruiting experienced underwriters with a strong technical and mid-market trading background to add to the existing team.

From an infrastructure perspective, a strong regional presence remains central to how the company will continue to trade and along with a programme of investment in its current regional trading offices – Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Reading and Chelmsford – the company will open its 8th trading office in the City of London by the end of the year.

Simon Cooter commented: “I’m confident that we have a real opportunity to create a credible alternative to what traditional mid-market insurers have to offer.  We’re looking to work with brokers who will support us to win business and based on our successes to date, it’s clear that brokers are looking for what we have to offer.  Not only can we offer our brokers A rated financial strength and security, our desire and ambition is matched with significant investment. We’re absolutely serious about becoming a mid-market insurer and my message to the market is that this is just the start”

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Despite the continuing economic hiatus in the UK, drivers of highly desirable supercars such as the Mercedes SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP12-4C are becoming younger, significantly increasing the need for more bespoke, experienced underwriting by insurers.

Ashley Cole, head of Aurum, the high net worth and specialist motor product from Aqueduct Underwriting (Aqua), has noted a gradual, but significant demographic shift to SuperYounger drivers in recent years.

Cole, who has underwritten prestige motor insurance for over 14 years, believes the growth in the number of SuperYounger drivers has been driven by three key trends. The first is the rapid depreciation of the value of some supercars cars caused by the economic downturn, and the second is the resilience of the most affluent to these market fluctuations as well as an influx of money from abroad.

Cole said: “10 years ago a typical supercar owner was over 40 years of age, a professional or independently wealthy and used their valuable pride and joy during dry weekends.  Fast forward to 2013 and we are increasingly seeing requests from petrol-head entrepreneurs who are much younger, who may have moved to the UK from overseas and use a second-hand and vastly depreciated Aston Martin as daily transport.

This SuperYounger demographic shift doesn’t necessarily lead to problems with obtaining insurance, but it does make our focus on bespoke underwriting and working with specialist brokers who know their clients crucial factors for finding the right cover.

“The wider demographic ownership of supercars is part of a wider trend we have noticed across Aqua’s HNW underwriting business, where clients are generally purchasing more passion assets, such as yachts, jets, priceless art, numerous homes and luxury cars.”

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The insurance industry must be prepared for future market challenges, the quickening pace of customer-driven commerce and the continuing spread of the digital economy, says Ovum. According to the independent global analysts, insurers can improve their competitive position by implementing predictive analytics and using the wealth of rich data available from social media channels and conceptual sources such as the ‘Internet of Things’.

A new report from Ovum suggests that in order to be better prepared, insurers should focus on creative initiatives that analyse data from a number of sources, including social media, third parties and machine-to-machine communications. By concentrating predictive analytics on key areas of the business – namely business operations, marketing and customer relations – insurers will be able to determine which markets to enter or leave, shape target market initiatives and estimate potential losses for the book of business as each customer is added.

“Insurers are already well aware of the impending threats/challenges including tightening regulation, demanding customers, an ageing population and weakened economies,” says Barry Rabkin, principal analyst, insurance financial service technology, Ovum. “The critical differentiator for insurers will be minimising future risk thorough predictive analytics by tapping into the vast amounts of rich data.”

Finally, Rabkin reveals that a new role is emerging – the data scientist role – and this will be as important as the well-known data miner role in the insurance industry. Ovum is already seeing a growing number of insurance companies creating new departments of these types of quantitatively skilled professionals. This role will take a deeper approach to research (i.e. collect more data and explore more hypotheses) and generate recommendations that are scalable down to individual lines of insurance business. Ovum believes that data scientists and data miners will work closely together to discuss “what if” questions regarding their predictive analytics initiatives.

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Intent on delivering the highest level of service to its clients, XL Group has promoted Martin Vinkenfluegel to lead XL GAPS’ (Global Asset Protection Services Ltd) global field engineering team. The team includes 100 engineers based in more than 20 countries in Europe, North and South America and Asia Pacific. It provides customized risk assessment and prevention services as well as training to commercial and industrial businesses across the world.

Tim Heinze, Head, XL GAPS and Underwriting Operations said: “Our field engineers play an essential role in helping our clients better understand their risk exposures as the basis for effective risk management. They also help other XL Group teams underwrite some of the most complex global property risks. We feel lucky to count on Martin’s combination of field engineering, account management and business development experience to lead this global team.”

He added, “Our integrated approach to risk engineering means that we use engineering consultants with client industry and process expertise along with cat analysis to determine risk exposures. Martin’s deep insights into how engineering and the underwriting process work hand-in-hand will make him a strong leader to our field engineers globally, ensuring that our clients receive the highest service levels possible.”

Martin brings over 25 years experience in industrial loss prevention to his Global Field Engineering Leader role. He worked 16 years for IRI / GE GAPS and the past 10 years with XL Group. At IRI, Martin held the role of Field Engineer, Supervisor for a multinational European field team and was their first Principal Consultant outside the US. He will continue to be based in Zurich and report directly to Tim Heinze.

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Xchanging, the business process, procurement and technology services provider and integrator has launched Xchanging Recovery Marketplace (XRM), a service that provides end-to-end management of salvage sales for the insurance market.

XRM is designed to vastly improve efficiency by actively targeting and matching buyers and sellers through the delivery of a fully managed service covering all associated logistics of storage delivery transportation and payment.

The service is available through X-presso, Xchanging’s mobile app for insurance professionals, and uses an established online, real time auction management system. The service provides access to a unique global network of over 100,000 specialist buyers in order to maximise the value of salvage sales.

Each XRM auction is bespoke and carefully managed, with the seller retaining full control up to the acceptance of the highest bid. The XRM team then act as a liaison between parties, providing a transparent, standardised process for the sale of salvage and encouraging the speedy completion of each sale. The service guarantees rapid fund distribution and extensive post sale management information.

Geoff Kennard, electronic services director at Xchanging said: “By extending our partnership with an established US salvage system provider, Xchanging is now able to offer a global salvage market to London and UK composite insurers. The extended system is based on a widely used resource, which is proven to improve efficiency dramatically and facilitate speedy buyer/vendor sourcing and transaction completion.

“The XRM service can be accessed from either a desktop or on the move via iPad, demonstrating Xchanging’s commitment to expanding the X-presso platform to give customers choice and flexibility in the way they access services.”

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Xchanging, the business process, procurement and technology services provider and integrator has made a number of key appointments to its claims services business Xchanging Claims Services (XCS).

Mark Sullivan has been appointed to the role of chief adjuster for reinsurance and will combine this with his existing position as head of delegated lead. Mark has a wealth of London insurance market experience gained over a 20 year career in the Lloyd’s market. During that time he has focused his technical adjusting experience almost exclusively on reinsurance.

Joining to support him in this role as his deputy will be Andy Campbell who is currently the head of quality for XCS. Steve Woolford has also been promoted to the role of technical head 1st party.

Max Pell, managing director of Xchanging’s UK insurance business said: “We are delighted to announce these changes which have put in place some highly experienced individuals within the adjusting function of XCS. These changes will ensure that we maintain the right level and mix of staff to meet our contractual obligations and to ensure quality and service level outputs are in line with customer demand and expectations.”

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Due to a rising and aging population, the Isle of Man has emerged as a hub for captive insurance and offshore life insurance businesses. The population aged above 65 years as a percentage of the total population increased from 17.2% in 2007 to 18.2% in 2011.

The Isle of Man is one of the leading offshore financial centres in the world. Business-friendly and transparent regulations coupled with excellent infrastructure have created a thriving business environment in the island. The insurance industry is an integral part of the Isle of Man’s financial sector and accounted for 13.0 % of its GDP in 2011.

The Manx insurance industry is well diversified with 213 licensed insurance entities at end of 2012, including insurers, insurance management companies and insurance intermediaries. According to new research from Timetric, stable economic growth, a favourable regulatory environment, the availability of an experienced workforce and the tax advantages of running a business on the island will drive the growth of the insurance industry towards 2017

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The Swazi insurance industry is still in its developmental stages, struggling to overcome low penetration rates and dependence on SACU (Southern African Customs Union) receipts. Despite this, the recovery in global financial markets has driven growth in the non-life sector, whilst a push for micro-insurance products is hoping to support industry growth by broadening its clientele.

Swazi Dependence on SACU

Swaziland is part of SACU, the purpose of which is to maintain the free interchange of goods between member countries. All customs and excise of member states is paid into a revenue fund that is subsequently redistributed according to a formula described in the initial SACU agreement.

More than 60% of Swaziland’s annual government revenue comes from SACU receipts, inextricably linking the fortunes of Swazi industry with the broader SACU group. When 2011 brought a significant decline in SACU revenues, and saw weaknesses in its expenditure controls exploited, it precipitated a severe financial crisis for Swaziland. Consequently, its insurance industry declined from a CAGR of 27.2% in 2010 to 7.3% in 2011.

Fortunately however, the economic slowdown appears to have been reversed more recently, with higher transfers from the SACU in 2012-2013 sparking a process of economic recovery. Timetric predicts this growth is to continue until 2017, supporting the demand for insurance products.

Micro-Insurance Improves Penetration

In January 2011, the RIRF (Registrar of Insurance and Retirement Funds) commissioned the Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (CENFRI) to conduct research, explore opportunities and determine any challenges for Swaziland’s insurance industry. Focusing on the study of market context, by taking into account the social, economic, political and demographic environment, it recommended the promotion of micro-insurance: insurance specifically designed for low-income people, tailored for lower valued assets and compensation for illness, injury or death.

The promotion of micro-insurance therefore opens up large sectors of the Swazi population who hitherto were inappropriate targets for insurers as a result of their low income, consequently granting the Swazi insurance industry a broader clientele, and offering strong growth prospects by improving insurance penetration in the country.

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Up until 2010 iron ore production in Sierra Leone was minimal. With the discovery of new deposits in 2011, the country is expected to become one of Africa’s largest iron ore producing countries by 2017. The growing mining industry will require a large labor force, and according to a new report from Timetric this will lead to increased demand for employer liability insurance over the next five years. This comes as great news for the country’s insurers at a time where the industry is struggling with a number of challenges including low penetration rate, rising unemployment, and a weak regulatory framework.

Inadequate supervision of insurance authority

The major concern for the insurance industry is inadequate regulation, which needs to be more focused, coherent, and in line with international best practices. The weak regulatory framework is also the reason behind the underdeveloped nature and low penetration of insurance.

The Sierra Leone Insurance Commission (SLICOM) is responsible for the supervision and licensing of insurance companies, brokers, loss adjusters, and agents in the country. However, the industry does not provide SLICOM adequate data on its financial condition. In addition, SLICOM is also running too low on resources to justify its role in dealing with important stability issues like possible insolvency. It also has a shortage of professional staff, adequate training, manuals, analytical tools, and technology. Today there are eight insurance companies and six brokers operating in the country, however some of these companies only started their operations recently and currently do not contribute a significant amount of revenue to the industry.

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Supercover Insurance Ltd, administrator and provider of gadget insurance, announces that David Seel has been appointed to a consultancy role within the business. David, who has worked in the insurance industry for over 40 years will spearhead Supercover’s ongoing business development and help enable closer collaboration with an increased number of affinity partners.

Carmi Korine, managing director of Supercover Insurance welcomed David by commenting: “As the variety of gadgets, electronic devices and valuable personal items we own increases, we have been able to answer a specific need in the market. The business has grown threefold in the last two years alone and with David’s help, we see the business’ potential being greatly exceeded in years to come. We welcome David as the newest member of our team and I personally look forward to working closely with him.”

In his new consultancy role, one of David’s many priorities will be to develop a robust infrastructure to support new business. This will involve identifying and growing key intermediary relationships and aiding product developments.

David added: “The rising value and increased usage of portable electronic equipment is unmistakeable. For example, the average Londoner carries up to £1,034* worth of devices and personal items with them on a daily basis. However, more than 4.5m** mobile handsets are lost, stolen or damaged in the UK each year. It’s no surprise that gadget insurance is one of the fastest growing personal lines products in the UK so this is a very exciting opportunity for me to help develop this much sought after product.”

Prior to accepting a consultancy role with Supercover Insurance, David was managing director of Thornside pet insurance and chair of the ABI Pet Insurance Committee.

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Canopius Group announces that A.M. Best has removed Canopius US Insurance, Inc. from under review and affirmed its financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-“.  The outlook assigned to both ratings remains negative.

Canopius US is Canopius’s US surplus lines insurance company based in Chicago.  It was formerly owned by Omega Insurance Holdings Limited.

These rating actions take into consideration the acquisition by Canopius, A.M. Best’s discussions with Canopius management regarding the immediate and long-range benefits gained under the new ownership and Canopius’s past success as it relates to mergers and acquisitions.

Jim Giordano, Chairman of Canopius US said “This rating is consistent with my expectations given the historical performance and strong capitalisation of this company.  Since acquisition we have put in place a clearly defined strategy to improve operating performance whilst developing this platform.  Our plans harness the experience and knowledge of our local team, with the wider experience and support provided from Canopius Group including underwriting, actuarial, catastrophe modelling, risk management, marketing and capital support.”

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