Insurance – The Daily Economist

USAA cuts homeowners’, renters’ insurance rates in three states

Staff Reporter — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:29:13 +0000

The United States has responded by lowering insurance rates for homeowners and tenants in three states, as customers stay at home more than ever before due to epidemic restrictions.

Insured is reducing homeowners’ insurance rates in Ohio and Wisconsin by 4.9%. Also, USAA has exceeded the insurance rate of tenants in Colorado by 4.8%.

In a multi-agency release, the USAA said that homeowners insurance rates would be much higher for insured customers with active military members – a 14% reduction for Ohio military customers and a 9% reduction for Wisconsin.

Reducing homeowners insurance rates in Wisconsin would save more than $ 1.5 million for the 50,000 members of the USA in Ohio and more than ১ 1.1 million for about 25,000 Wisconsin customers. Meanwhile, a reduction in tenant insurance will help Colorado’s 45,000 customers save more than ,000 250,000.

Existing members will see the savings apply to policy renewals, and new members will receive savings certificates at the time of purchase.

Insurance pricing a key signal in shift to low carbon: ICNZ

Staff Reporter — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 12:27:47 +0000

Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says it helps publish insurers’ risk assessment studies and provides an important signal for all stakeholders to move towards a low-carbon economy.

ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton made the remarks at an online panel hosted by Corelzic titled “Climate Change: Tackling Climate Risk in Financial Services and Insurance.”

“Insurance plays a key role in being able to deliver that value in communicating those risk-reducing investment decisions … to ensure that capital is well allocated so that we can transition to a low-carbon economy by sending the right signals,” said Mr Grafton.

“As soon as we start hiding these – if we see for example that coal is not a long-term problem for investment – we will go into a dark hole.”

In September, New Zealand became the first country for financial institutions to pass legislation to declare their climate-related risks. Financial institutions will now be expected to adhere to a structure of the Task Force on Climate Financial Disclosure (TCFD).

New Zealand has also established a zero carbon law for zero carbon by 2050. Mr Grafton said the government, the Reserve Bank and international insurance prudent regulators now have climate change as a strategic priority.

Regulator suspends commission for non-life insurance agents

Staff Reporter — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 11:32:49 +0000

Insurance regulator on Thursday suspended providing all types of commission for the country’s non-life insurance companies.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority issued a circular at 10:00 pm on the day.

Earlier, the 45 non-life or general insurance firms used to provide 15 per cent commission to the agents to procure the business. But it is believed that a part of the commision went to the pockets of branch managers of banks.

This has an immediate effect.

MetLife Bangladesh gets new General Manager

Online Desk — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 03:59:08 +0000

MetLife Bangladesh gets new General Manager

MetLife, one of the world’s leading financial services companies, has announced the appointment of Muhammad Ala Uddin Ahmad as General Manager of its Bangladesh business.

He succeeds Syed Hammadul Karim who retired in December 2020 after a distinguished 33-year career with MetLife, according to a press release received on Saturday.

A Fellow Chartered Accountant, Ala Ahmad has more than 21 years of life insurance experience.

He has held a variety of senior country and regional leadership roles in MetLife including Chief Financial Officer for South Asia, General Manager for Nepal, Head of Strategy, Business Planning and Transformation for MetLife’s joint venture in Malaysia – AmMetLife, and most recently, General Manager for Hong Kong.

Renaissance Alliance founders to retire next year

Staff Reporter — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 12:43:24 +0000

The founders of the independent P&C insurance agency network Renaissance Alliance insurance services have announced that they will retire next year.

Bruce and Janet Cochrane retired 21 years after the founding of the Renaissance Alliance, effective January 01, 2021. The company prides itself on being one of the pioneers of insurance founding space.

After their retirement, Kevin Callahan, executive chairman of the Renaissance Alliance and President Robert Bandi will head the company’s executive committee. Bruce Cochran will be a member of the Board of Directors and will serve as Special Adviser to Callahan.

“I am delighted to be taking the title of this great organization and to build the outstanding foundation that Bruce and Janet have created. We will continue our geographical expansion while increasing the value that the Renaissance places on our members and career partners, ”said Callahan.

Since the Renaissance Alliance received an investment from Long Arc Capital two and a half years ago, the company has entered new markets, expanded the services provided to its members, and created an integrated technology platform.

Callahan added that the Renaissance is approaching 1 1 billion in premiums, saying it is proof that the company’s price proposal is resonating in the market.

Bruce Cochrane commented, “We are proud of what we have created in the Renaissance and we are delighted to have passed the torch in this exciting time of rapid regional expansion and significant premium growth.”

MetLife Bangladesh wins ‘Superbrand status’

Staff Reporter — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 07:50:02 +0000

The superbrands’ organanisation has included MetLife Bangladesh has won the Superbrand status for the year 2020-21 for its impact in the life insurance sector of the country.

The recognition has been awarded by the Superbrands organisation, which identifies the most outstanding brands in their respective fields.

The selection of winners for the prestigious global status was made by an independent panel of judges.

MetLife Bangladesh’s rich local history of over 65 years, widespread presence in the country through a strong agency network, world-class products, customer service, and industry-leading innovations have contributed in winning the Superbrand status, MetLife said in a statement.

“We are delighted to receive the Superbrand recognition. It is the trust and confidence of our customers, people and regulators that have made us eligible for this recognition and we thank them all,” said Syed Hammadul Karim, MetLife’s general manager.

“As a leading life insurance provider in the country our commitment is to provide world-class financial protection services to the people of Bangladesh,” he added.

Use insurance industry for humanitarian welfare: PM

Staff Reporter — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 08:26:44 +0000

D.Economist Desk:Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the insurance companies to utilise their industry for humanitarian welfare and said Unified Messaging Platform (UMP) will be introduced to save the customers from insurance-related cheating.
“I hope you (insurance companies) will use the insurance industry for humanitarian welfare and play a more effective role in keeping production and economy out of risk,” she said.
The prime minister was addressing as the chief guest the inaugural ceremony of the 15th International Conference on Inclusive Insurance at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel here this afternoon.
Sheikh Hasina described inadequacy of information as a major problem for insurance customers.
She said consumers’ confidence in the insurance industry decreases and sometimes they are deceived too, as they remain in the dark about how many installments have been deposited and whether the installment money has actually been credited to the head office.
“To overcome the problem, the process of Unified Messaging Platform (UMP) is underway,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina requested the owners of the insurance companies to give importance to the issue of social responsibility alongside making profit.
Putting emphasis on introduction of micro insurance schemes to tackle climate change risk, she said it will greatly benefit lower income group people affected due to natural calamities.
Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) has arranged the three-day conference in association with Munich Re Foundation and Microinsurance Network (MiN) with the theme ‘Coping With Climate Risk’.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Senior Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance Ashadul Islam and Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Development Authority Shafiqul Rahman Patwary were present as the special guests at the function.
Chairman of Munich Re Foundation Thomas Loster and Chairman of Microinsurance Network (MiN) Doubell Chamberlain also spoke on the occasion as special guests.
BIA President Sheikh Kabir Hossain presided over the function, while its First Vice-President Prof Rubina Hamid delivered the welcome address.
At the outset of the event, an audio-video presentation on business and insurance in Bangladesh was made.

The premier said a directive has been issued to bring transparency in transactions in the insurance industry.
“All transactions above Tk 10 thousand must be through a bank. All insurance companies have been instructed to show their updated insurance claims on their own website,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said being the largest Delta in the world, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change. Cyclone, storm, floods, droughts, rain, earthquake etc. occur here round the year in different times, she said.
“Insurance can play an effective role in tackling the natural disasters. But application of insurance is very limited and inadequate in covering the risks resulting from natural disaster,” she said.
As a result, the premier said, it is possible to compensate losses and damages grossly but it is still impossible reaching the micro-level people.
“In that case special insurance ecosystem can play an impressive role in addressing climate risks. However, this form of insurance system is a new type of initiative. It has been introduced in a few countries and it’s at experimental stage in some countries,” she said.
“We could also make this arrangement in our country,” she added.
The prime minister said insurance industry helps reduce the invisible risks of individuals, families and the organizations and also provides financial guarantees to minimize potential risks.
“It also provides protection against loss of life and property. It helps create funds for the country’s capital and investment sectors. So, everyone needs insurance, regardless of the rich and the poor,” she said.
Considering the importance of insurance industry in the socio-economic development of the country, Sheikh Hasina said the present government has given due importance to modernization and development of this sector.
“Our government has been trying to develop the insurance industry. We enacted new Insurance Act 2010 in place of age-old Insurance Act 1938,” she said.
The prime minister said the government has also established autonomous regulatory body, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), dissolving the office of the Chief Controller of Insurance.
“The IDRA has taken several effective steps to ensure inclusive insurance,” she added.
To take into account the farmers affected by the sudden floods in the ‘Haor’ region and tackle the risk of climate change as a whole, she said, agricultural insurance is being introduced in the ‘Haor’ region to reduce the financial losses of the farmers in the primary stage.
The prime minister said insurance policy for the workers working abroad has been introduced. “It will be possible to take insurance risk of about 12 million workers. Under this insurance, a worker will get maximum insurance benefit of Tk. 5 lakh,” she said.
Pointing out that insurance claim settlement is a problem in the insurance industry, Sheikh Hasina said initiatives have been taken to bring out the insurance industry from the problem and to safeguard the interests of consumers.
“As a result, the insurance industry has settled the insurance claim of Tk. 8 thousand crore during the last two years. Due to ‘zero tolerance’ policy of the authority on claim settlement, the rate of claim settlement has significantly increased,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said initiatives have been taken to insure building insurance to ensure the financial security of the risks arising from the fire in the buildings.
“The deadline is set by December 2019 to enlist 27 insurance companies that are not yet listed in the capital market,” she said.
She said the ‘Bangabandhu Education Insurance’ is underway to continue the education of the school-going students in the absence of parents.
The prime minister said it has been proposed to declare 1st March as ‘National Insurance Day’, adding that on the day Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman joined the then Alpha Insurance as regional chief. “We’re thinking about considering the proposal,” she said.
The prime minister said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was involved with the insurance industry.
“Assuming office after the independence, he worked for the development of the insurance industry in our country,” she said.
Realizing the important role of an actuary for insurance industry, Sheikh Hasina said Bangabandhu called the only actuary of Bangladesh at that time Shafat Ahmed Chowdhury from London and appointed him as the Controller of Insurance in 1973.
Wishing success of the conference, the prime minister hoped that experts from different countries in this conference will play a role to share mutual experiences which will help create more effective and realistic programs to address climate risks through inclusive insurance policy.
Nearly 400 representatives of insurance and financial institutions from 42 countries are participating in the conference, organisers said.

Coronavirus outbreak: BB sets insurance coverage for bankers serving clients

Staff Reporter — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 07:50:46 +0000

Bank employees will be entitled to a health insurance coverage of Tk 5 lakh to Tk 10 lakh if they are infected by coronavirus while delivering services to customers, according to a Bangladesh Bank notice issued on Thursday .
The respective banks will have to fix the amount of the health insurance plan as per the employees’ designations and salary structure.
If an employee dies of the Covid-19, their family will get fivefold the insurance coverage.
The insurance support and donation will be applicable for bank employees who have been present at their bank branches during the general holidays declared by the government.
Banks will not be allowed to adjust the insurance amount or payout with previous liabilities of the employees, according to the BB notice.
The insurance amount will have to be provided within 15 days from the date of infection.
The instructions will take retrospective effect from the first day of the general holidays until one month after the lockdown is lifted.
If an employee faces any accident while going to office during the holidays, banks will also have to bear their medical expenses.
“This is a good initiative taken by the central bank as bankers have to deliver their services with great risk,” said an official of a commercial bank.
But the bank management should also provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to their employees and the central bank should take an initiative in this regard as well, he said.
On April 13, BB had asked banks to provide incentives to their employees who are working during the ongoing lockdown.
Bankers will get a month’s basic salary if they work for at least 10 days during the shutdown. Contractual staffers will get 65 per cent of their basic salaries as special incentive.
The special incentive will range from a minimum of Tk 30,000 to a maximum of Tk 100,000 a month during the shutdown.
In a separate notice yesterday, the BB asked banks not to impose compound interest on credit cardholders from March 15 to May 31 this year. The central bank also directed banks to adjust the excess interest charged on the credit cardholders with their upcoming bills.
Lenders were asked on April 4 not to impose any late payment fees on credit cardholders, who are finding it difficult to clear the bills due to the ongoing shutdown and short banking hours.
The central bank issued another instruction yesterday saying that type-C industrial units located in export processing zones, economic zones and high-tech parks will be entitled to funds from the bailout package of Tk 5,000 crore for export-oriented industries.
Type C industrial units are fully owned by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs who permanently reside in the country.
The government has recently declared the bailout package so that the exporters can provide wages and salaries to their workers from April to June.

Swadesh Life is being transformed into an Islamic insurance company

Staff Reporter — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 05:13:53 +0000

Swadesh Life Insurance Company Limited, a private insurance company, is being transformed into an Islamic insurance company. The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has approved it on 8 conditions after reviewing the required information and documents in the light of the insurance company’s application. The approval was given at the 130th meeting of the authority on September 28.

According to the information, Swadesh Life Insurance Company got the approval to conduct business in the insurance sector of the country on January 13, 2014. It started with some other insurance products including single insurance, micro insurance, group insurance and health insurance. The paid up capital of the company is Tk 18 crore. However, after 8 long years of starting the business, Swadesh Life could not be listed in the capital market.

According to the latest estimates for 2020, the company currently has a deficit of Tk 28 million in its life fund. The total assets of the company amount to 15 crore 5 lakh rupees. And the number of current policies is 5 thousand 955. Last year, the company’s gross premium collection was 6 crore 36 lakh rupees. At present, the company has 1,059 development officers and 46 administrative officers. It is the headquarters of Purana Paltan in the capital.

According to IDRA sources, Swadesh Life will be renamed as Swadesh Islami Life Insurance Company Limited by transforming it into an Islamic Sharia based insurance company. The conditions that the company has to abide by in this case are – to follow the prevailing rules of BSEC. As per the proposal of the company, the memorandum of association and the rules of association should be amended and the authority should apply for the registration certificate in the new name.

In addition, all immovable and movable property, cash and bank deposits, shares, all debts, liabilities and obligations of Swadesh Life Insurance Company Limited, all contracts executed by or on behalf of it and all claims and rights related to it are Swadesh Islami. Life Insurance Company Limited.

Before getting the approval of Islamic insurance, all the transactions and liabilities have to be borne against the insurance policy already issued, including the interests of the insurance customers. The company has to market all types of insurance policies based on Islamic Shariah instead of the traditional insurance policies of all classes currently in operation.

All investments of the company must be made in accordance with Islamic Shariah and the activities currently conducted by the company for the purpose of conducting Islamic insurance business must be carried out in accordance with Islamic Shariah. Swadesh Life Insurance Company will be transformed into an Islamic Shariah based life insurance company only if these conditions of the regulatory body are met.

In this regard, the Chief Executive Officer (CC) of Swadesh Life Ikhtiyar Uddin Shahin said, most of the people in Bangladesh are Muslims. These devout people evaluate Islamic institutions. Considering the people who love Islam, it has been decided to transform our organization on the basis of Islamic Sharia. The regulatory body has also approved the matter. Necessary documents are being prepared at present. Sharia-based activities of the company will be officially launched soon.

Chairman of the Insurance Development and Control Authority to know about the statement. An attempt was made to contact M Musharraf Hossain on his mobile phone but he did not receive the call.

Amazon extends work from home option till June

Staff Reporter — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 13:11:23 +0000

Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday told employees whose work can be done from home that they can do so until June, extending the timeline on a return to office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Reuters.

“Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so until June 30, 2021”, an Amazon spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Tuesday, adding the guidance is applicable globally.

Amazon had earlier allowed that option until January.

The development comes less than three weeks after the world’s largest online retailer said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year.

Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said that Amazon put employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic.

“We have invested significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and by providing face coverings and hand sanitizer,” the Amazon spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

In May, Twitter Inc became the first major tech company to allow employees who can work remotely to do so indefinitely.

Other tech giants have extended the work from home option for their employees with Microsoft Corp saying earlier this month it will let most employees work remotely for up to half their weekly working hours.

Facebook Inc had said it would allow its employees to work from home till July next year, while Google had extended the remote working period for employees who do not need to be in the office till June.