Latest Asia Headlines

All the headlines from our Asia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Batchelor Appointed Head of Marsh’s International Division

Nov 2 2011 // Marsh, the insurance broker and risk advisor and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, announced the appointment of David Batchelor as Head of its International Division, effective immediately.The...

Survey Finds Africa, Asia Cities Most at Risk from Global Climate Change

Oct 26 2011 // Countries and megacities in Africa and Asia are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change over the coming years, a global survey shows, underscoring the risks from floods, rising sea levels, droughts and...

Ex-AIG Unit AIA Group’s Growth Jumps in Q3 as Insurance Demand Rises

Oct 14 2011 // AIA Group Ltd, Asia’s No.3 insurer, said growth accelerated in the third quarter, with its value of new business rising 53 percent as strong performance in markets such as Malaysia helped boost earnings.The...

Aon Benfield Reports Asia Monsoon Economic Losses near $7 Billion

Oct 7 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during...

Willis Chief Tells Asian CEO’s Insurance ‘Not Just About Coverage’

Sep 22 2011 // Joe Plumeri, the Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, told more than 100 leading Asian CEOs’ that ‘insurance is not just about coverage and claims, but is about security and survival’ at the KPMG...

Whittington Sells UK Business to Finance Asia Expansion

Sep 20 2011 // Whittington Group, the Singapore-based international insurance investor, announced it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its London businesses to a consortium, comprising Tawa Plc, Skuld, and Paraline Group, Ltd.,...

Report Says Asia to Add 1.66 Million Millionaires by 2015

Aug 31 2011 // Asia will add 1.66 million dollar-millionaires by 2015, taking the total number of wealthy to 2.82 million as the world’s fastest-growing major economies of China and India continue to mint millionaires, a report...

Giggins Joins Miller’s Hong Kong Office for Asian Financial Risks

Aug 22 2011 // UK-based broker Miller Insurance Services announced that Martin Giggins has joined the firm’s Hong Kong office to spearhead the development of its financial services business in the Asia region. Giggins specializes...

Insurance Australia Group to Acquire Stake in China’s Bohai Insurance

Aug 16 2011 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced it has agreed to acquire a 20 percent strategic interest in China’s Bohai Property Insurance Pty Ltd., a general insurerIAG said it would pay RMB687.5 million...

U.S. Experts Blame a Government for Cyber Attacks; Is It China?

Aug 3 2011 // Security experts have discovered the biggest series of cyber attacks to date, involving the infiltration of the networks of 72 organizations including the United Nations, governments and companies around the...

Insurers Interested in ING European, Asian Units

Aug 2 2011 // ING could get a far bigger pay-out if it ditched a plan to spin-off its Asian and European insurance units as a single stock market-listed business and instead chose buyers from a long list of interested parties.A trade...

ING Sale of Latin American Insurance Unit Sets Stage for Others

Jul 25 2011 // Dutch bancassurer ING is to sell most of its Latin American operation to Colombia’s GrupoSura for 2.6 billion euros ($3.7 bln) in a deal resulting from its state rescue in 2008.ING agreed to split its bank and...

Willis Australasia Appoints Pickering as Chairman; Lindhout CEO

Jul 22 2011 // Willis Group Holdings announced that, effective immediately, Scott Pickering, President of Willis’ Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa operations, will assume the additional role of Chairman, Willis...

New Swiss Re sigma study Reveals Global Premium, Capital Growth

Jul 6 2011 // A new study in Swiss Re’s sigma series concluded that the global insurance industry has returned to a pattern of growth. The study – World insurance in 2010 – reveals growth in global premium volume and...

Aon’s International Space Brokers Opens Hong Kong Operation

Jul 5 2011 // Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management and insurance brokerage business of Aon Corp., announced the Hong Kong opening of its space insurance practice, International Space Brokers (ISB).The bulletin said Craig...

Eqecat Set to Release 3 Revised Catastrophe Models

Jun 29 2011 // Catastrophe risk modeler Eqecat has scheduled July 15 as the date to release three significant revisions to its Worldcatenterprise 3.16 platform. The updates cover Eqecat’s North Atlantic hurricane model, its Canada...

Report Says South China Sea Disputes Could Lead to Asian War

Jun 28 2011 // Risks are growing that incidents at sea involving China could lead to war in Asia, potentially drawing in the United States and other powers, an Australian think tank warned on Tuesday.The Lowy Institute said in a report...

Markel International Names Asia Pacific Unit Leader

May 23 2011 // Specialty insurer Markel International has appointed Abhishek Chhajer to lead the development of the company’s trade credit business in the Asia Pacific region out of the company’s Singapore office, which forms...

ING to Push Ahead with Insurance IPOs, Divestments

May 5 2011 // Dutch financial services group ING said on Thursday it was on track to list its U.S., European and Asian insurance units and to divest other businesses to repay state aid.ING, which received €10 billion [$14.8832...

Best Named First Rating Agency Approved in New Zealand

May 3 2011 // A.M. Best Asia Pacific Ltd has become the first rating agency to be approved by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand under the conditions of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010. The registration became effective on...