Insurance Agent Threaten To Kill Customer

Police have detained an insurance agent in connection to a criminal intimidation case. The 30-year-old man was nabbed when he surrendered himself at a police station here on Wednesday, the same day the victim, a food delivery man, lodged a police report.

Southwest district police said at about 8.13am last Sunday, the 28-year-old victim had contacted his insurance agent to cancel his insurance policy. He said he could no longer afford to pay and was no longer interested to continue with the policy.

The insurance agent then threatened to kill his client if he cancelled the policy. He also said that he would pay for his client's policy for three months to complete the one-year period the client subscribed to the policy. He also told the client that if he goes to the insurance company to cancel the policy, he would cut him.

The victim lodged a police report at 3.47pm on Wednesday.

Health Insurance Claim - India

94% of health insurance claims are typically approved by insurance companies, underscoring a robust foundation within the industry, according to a recent report. Notably, this figure climbs to 97% for claims initiated through online channels, demonstrating the efficiency and potential transparency facilitated by digital platforms in the claims process.

Furthermore, the integration of online platforms results in a significant decrease in Rejection rates, dropping from an average of 6% to just 2.5%.

Claim Payouts and Consumer Satisfaction - While approval rates are encouraging, the report identifies an area for improvement in claim payout amounts, which currently stand at 87%. Ensuring a 100% payout percentage remains an aspiration, particularly by enhancing awareness about add-ons like consumables cover.

Customer Satisfaction: A Key Metric - Customer satisfaction emerges as a pivotal metric in evaluating the health insurance landscape. The report highlights that 86% of customers reported satisfaction with their claim experiences. This positive feedback reflects the industry's ongoing efforts to meet and exceed customer expectations, bolstering overall trust in insurance providers.

Reasons for Claim Rejections - Despite high approval rates, a significant proportion of claim rejections (6%) stem from non-disclosure of pre-existing or uncovered diseases. This issue underscores the importance of transparent communication between insurers and policyholders at the time of purchase to prevent such pitfalls.

Role of Intermediaries in Claim Reversals - The involvement of intermediaries in the claims process significantly influences the outcomes. When customers resubmit rejected claims themselves, only 6% succeed in having their decisions reversed. However, this rate improves dramatically to 32% with the assistance of offline agents and jumps to 67% when utilizing online intermediaries.

Cashless vs. Reimbursement Claims - The report delves into the preferences and challenges associated with cashless and reimbursement claims. Notably, 70% of reimbursement claimants seek financial aid to cover upfront payments, indicating a reliance on out-of-pocket resources due to various factors such as the unavailability of cashless facilities or preferred healthcare providers not being in the insurer's network.

Despite an 86% satisfaction rate, there is room for improvement given the high stakes involved. Key strategies include enhancing cashless claim availability beyond metropolitan areas, improving efficiency in claims processing, and bolstering on-ground presence for psychological comfort, the report highlights.

Insurance Technology Funding - Indonesia

Indonesia insurance technology sector saw the largest funding in the first half of the year (H1 2024) with $47m. To compare, the same period last year saw $7.5m in funding. Other than insurtechs, fintech and enterprise applications emerged as the top-performing sectors in H1 2024. Despite these sector successes, no new unicorns were created in H1 2024, in contrast to one unicorn in the same period last year.

Fintech - startups in Indonesia raised $128m in H1 2024, a 61% plunge from $329m in H1 2023. Enterprise applications witnessed a 56% decline in funding, to $45.1m from $104m in H1 2023.

Globally, Indonesia ranked 29th in funding, demonstrating resilience amidst global economic challenges. The total funding raised by the Indonesia tech startup ecosystem amounted to $191m, reflecting a 79% decline from $918.3m in H2 2023 and a 64% decrease from $526m in H1 2023, highlighting the evolving investment climate.

Funding patterns at various stages showed distinct trends. Seed-stage funding reached $26m, a 42% decline from $45m in H2 2023 and a 27% decrease from $32m in H1 2023.

Cautious Sentiment - Early-stage funding totaled $113m, a 42% drop from $148m in H1 2023. Late-stage investments stood at $52.2m, a significant 92% decrease from $681m in H2 2023, reflecting cautious investor sentiment in later-stage ventures.

Jakarta led in city-wise funding in the first half of 2024, followed by Yogyakarta and Bandung. Tech startups based in Jakarta raised $185m, far ahead of those based in Yogyakarta ($3.5m) and Bandung ($2.5m).

Despite challenges, Indonesia's tech startup ecosystem remains vibrant and adaptive, supported by strategic investments and sectoral diversification.

Zurich Acquires AIG Global Travel Insurance

Zurich Insurance on Wednesday announced a $600 million deal to buy AIG global personal travel insurance and assistance business. The business will be combined with Zurich's travel insurance provider Cover-More Group (Cover-More) and will expand its footprint in the United States.

The acquisition, which is expected to close before the end of 2024, will result in combined annual gross written premiums of approximately $2 billion for the enlarged Cover-More Group.

Murder For Life Insurance Claim

A brutal syndicate posing as insurance agents has been uncovered in Kulai, following the murder of a 38-year-old man last month to claim a life insurance payout of RM500,000. The syndicate had orchestrated the murder to appear as a road accident, enabling them to file an insurance claim.

The syndicate's modus operandi involved identifying and approaching individuals who do not have any next of kin. The syndicate would then take out a life insurance policy in the victim's name without their knowledge, and then name another unknown individual as the beneficiary.

The insurance agent forged the victim's signature during the policy application process and waited until the policy was approved. Once the policy was approved and insurance premiums were paid for several months, the suspects planned the murder, staging it as a fatal accident. 

At 4.40am on May 6, the victim, riding a motorcycle, was rammed by two cars and another motorcycle on Jalan Senai-Seelong in Kulai. The 38-year-old victim, who was still alive after the collision, was then beaten by four suspects at the accident scene. The critically injured victim was subsequently run over by a lorry passing by, killing him on the spot.

Post-mortem report then revealed injuries on the victim's body that were inconsistent with road accident injuries. Further investigation led to the arrest of eight local men, aged between 23 and 49 years old, at various locations to assist in the investigation.

Four of the detainees have previous criminal records. Police also seized an insurance policy document in the victim's name and three vehicles used in the incident. After the victim's death, the suspects filed an insurance claim through an agent who was also a syndicate member.

Police investigations confirmed that the motive was a fraudulent insurance claim. This is the first case of its kind in the state. However, the claim was not processed as the syndicate's modus operandi was uncovered by the Johor contingent Criminal Investigation Department.

Singapore Income Insurance Possible Tie-up

Income Insurance is currently “in discussion” with European insurer Allianz on a transaction relating to Income’s shares. The two insurers are in talks about a possible tie-up, which could see Allianz buying a stake in Income, or a partnership agreement.

Income was exploring options to expand across the Asia-Pacific region. Income said that there is no assurance that any transaction will materialize or that any definitive or binding agreement will be reached. It will make further announcements if and when there are any material developments which warrant disclosure.

Income is a public non-listed company limited by shares, and was formerly known as NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Ltd. It has served about 1.7 million customers in Singapore, and has S$43 billion in assets under management as at Dec 31, 2023.

Allianz, which owns asset managers Pimco and Allianz Global Investors, is a global insurer and asset manager, with about 125 million private and corporate customers in nearly 70 countries.

Earlier in May, OCBC offered S$1.4 billion for the remaining stake in Great Eastern that it does not already own, with the aim of delisting the insurer.

In March, Singlife become a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese life insurer Sumitomo Life, in a deal that valued the Singapore insurer at S$4.6 billion.

IRDA Bars Life Insurer Promoting Investment Product

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a master circular barring the promotion of Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) as 'investment products'. Unit-linked or index-linked insurance products shall not be advertised as 'investment products', .

Insurers will have to specifically state that market-linked insurance plans are different from traditional endowment policies and carry risks. Likewise, participating (with bonus) endowment policies will have to state upfront that the bonuses projected in benefit illustrations are not guaranteed.

All the advertisements of linked insurance products and annuity products with variable annuity payout option shall disclose the risk factors, it said.

"All insurers shall advertise the launch of unit-linked funds or index-linked funds under existing insurance products or new insurance products, only with reference to the underlying life insurance coverage and the products associated with it.

"Further, no press release or statement shall be issued by the insurer without making a reference to the life insurance coverage and the associated products," the master circular said.

Besides, advertisements for all linked and annuity products with variable payouts must comply with the standards set by the Advertising Standards Council of India, it added.

Generali Selling Business In Turkey & Philippine

Generali SpA is seeking to sell its units in Turkey and the Philippines. 
The Italian insurer has kicked off separate processes to dispose of its small Istanbul-based Generali Sigorta AS subsidiary and of Generali Life Assurance Philippines. Discussions involve about half a dozen suitors in each process. 

The sales are part of Generali’s drive to streamline its structure and focus on core markets and segments. Generali last year sold both Tua Assicurazioni, a unit inherited from its purchase of a smaller Italian rival, and its Deutschland Pensionskasse AG unit.

Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet, who’s working on a new strategy that will be announced at the beginning of next year, is looking to improve profitability through more lucrative products as he seeks to reach annual per share earnings growth between 6% and 8% for 2021-2024.