Hanwha Initiates Blockchain

Hanwha Life Insurance is betting on the blockchain as a core pillar of its next growth phase as it seeks to evolve from a traditional insurer into a global financial group. Rather than treating blockchains as a speculative technology play, the insurer sees them as financial infrastructure capable of reshaping cost structures across the industry.

Hanwha Life envisions a future of finance in which blockchain technology securely safeguards customers’ assets and enables transactions with greater convenience. Ultimately, future finance means lowering costs across the financial system and returning those benefits to customers.

Indonesia has emerged as a key market for translating that vision into practice. South-East Asia’s largest digital economy had a financial inclusion rate of about 75% in 2024, according to official data, leaving roughly a quarter of its adult population unbanked or underbanked.

Hanwha Life this year acquired control of local lender Nobu Bank, becoming the first Korean insurer to gain control of a foreign bank. Through its subsidiary Hanwha General Insurance, the group also controls Lippo General Insurance, expanding its footprint across Indonesia’s financial sector.

The company aims to combine insurance and banking services in Indonesia to reach new customer segments while lowering barriers to financial access. With a population of about 280 million and a government target to lift financial inclusion to 98% by 2045, the country offers both scale and policy alignment.

Sony Life Review 2.5 Million Policies

Sony Life Insurance Co. decided to review about 2.5 million policies sold by its “life planners” following allegations that former sales employees were engaged in fraudulent practices. Around 20 to 30 customers of Sony Life have claimed they were victims of fraud or similar misconduct by company employees.

Sony Life will also ask customers who signed contracts through its sales employees or exclusive agents if they noticed any suspicious activity during phone calls, letters or on dedicated customer webpages.

Sony Life is the first insurer to open such a large-scale investigation since Prudential Life Insurance Co.’s probe in August 2024.

The Prudential Life investigation revealed that 107 employees and former employees were involved in unauthorized financial transactions with 503 customers, and improperly obtained a total of about 3.1 billion yen ($20 million).

At Sony Life, the number of customers reporting losses or expressing concerns about potential misconduct has been increasing. In January, the company disclosed a case in which a solicitor who had been tranferred to an exclusive agent for Sony Life took money from customers under the pretense of investment and diverted it for personal use.

In March, the company revealed that a former sales employee had borrowed about 2.2 billion yen from 103 customers, of which about 1.2 billion yen remains unpaid.

Sony Life initially did not make this case public, treating it as “personal borrowing” by the former employee.

The company was established in 1979 as Sony Prudential Life Insurance Co. It later split from Prudential Life and became a separate company. Both Sony Life and Prudential Life employ sales staff known as “life planners” to sell insurance products.

And both companies have traditionally adopted a “full-commission” compensation system in which pay is directly linked to sales performance. Prudential Life has been reviewing its compensation structure on grounds that the link between pay and insurance sales performance was a contributing factor to the misconduct.

South Korea Crackdown On Insurance Fraud

The South Korean National Police Agency has officially commenced a sweeping nine-month crackdown on insurance fraud to curb rising financial losses. Specialized units are being deployed across the country to target the growing issue of financial drain on the sector.

Running from February 2 through October 31, 2026, the special enforcement campaign represents a significant escalation in the government's battle against organized insurance crime. The initiative comes as the industry grapples with deteriorating loss ratios and a sophisticated wave of fraudulent activities. These illicit activities are inflating premiums for honest policyholders and undermining the stability of the market.

Inflated Claims - Authorities are specifically targeting two primary sources of leakage: organized car accident schemes and the operation of illegal medical institutions. These illegal facilities are known locally as "ghost hospitals” - they are often established by non-medical personnel who hire doctors on paper to obtain licenses, violating medical laws. These establishments have become hotbeds for inflated claims and systematic financial abuse.

Systematic enforcement against "ghost hospitals" - To ensure the effectiveness of the campaign, the police have designated anti-corruption and economic crime units as primary investigative forces. Mobile criminal investigation teams will also be utilized to track down organized rings that operate across regional jurisdictions.

The focus on "ghost hospitals" addresses a critical vulnerability in the healthcare insurance system. These facilities often collude with brokers and patients to falsify medical records and inflate treatments. This practice has evolved from simple opportunism into organized crime involving hundreds of participants.

In recent years, industry insiders have been found leveraging their specialized knowledge to exploit loopholes in the claims process. This trend has necessitated this high-level police intervention to protect the integrity of the system.

The National Police Agency stated that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, as it undermines the social safety net and directly leads to higher premiums for the general public.

Financial pressure on the sector - This enforcement drive arrives at a critical time for the Korean insurance market. The sector is currently navigating significant headwinds, as South Korea's general insurance sector surges with fresh momentum but faces underlying profitability challenges.

The leakage from fraud exacerbates these financial pressures, making strict enforcement a necessity for market stability. Recent data indicates that the complexity of fraud has increased, with criminals using digital tools to recruit accomplices. The crackdown also includes provisions to seize criminal proceeds before indictment to prevent fraudsters from hiding assets.

Managing Health Inflation - Singapore

Medical cost inflation in Singapore projected to hit a record high of 16.9 per cent in 2026, the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) called for collective action to tackle issues such as overconsumption of healthcare services, and to contain rising treatment costs. This means collaboration is needed between insurers, healthcare professionals and providers, consumers and the authorities.

For a start, all seven Integrated Shield Plan (IP) insurers have to launch new riders by April 1 to meet the Ministry of Health new requirements. The new riders will require consumers to pay more out of pocket before insurance kicks in and play a bigger role in sharing the responsibility of tamping down rising costs. Based on responses from four IP insurers earlier, the new riders will be priced, on average, at least 30 per cent lower than existing riders. 

To address rising insurance premiums and private healthcare costs by instilling discipline in healthcare consumption, particularly for minor procedures, MOH has mandated that new IP riders sold from April 1 can no longer cover the minimum IP deductibles set by the ministry.

This means that those with the new riders have to pay at least $1,500 before insurance coverage kicks in. In addition, the co-payment cap will be doubled from the current $3,000 to $6,000, requiring policyholders to pay a larger portion of their bills.

Medical costs are expected to continue rising in 2026 globally, with the Asia-Pacific region reporting the highest increase at 14 per cent. Singapore is expected to overtake Indonesia to become the Asia-Pacific market with the highest medical inflation at 16.9 per cent.

Medical inflation in Singapore had been under 10 per cent until 2024, when it rose to 12.3 per cent, and further grew to 15.5 per cent in 2025. Factors leading to higher medical inflation here include an ageing population; adoption of costly new technologies, treatments and medication; and high operating expenses driven by increasing real estate prices and salaries due to a shortage of healthcare staff.

Besides collaborating with stakeholders and enhancing public education, especially in the areas of wealth and health protection, LIA will launch a series of financial literacy workshops for students at institutes of higher learning, in partnership with the Singapore College of Insurance.

Indonesia Life Insurance Update 2025

In 2025, Indonesia Life Insurance Industry registered a total industry revenue of $13.6b (Rp238.7t), a 9.3% increase year-on-year, driven by strong investment returns and an increase in total insured individuals.

The Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI) data further showed that results from 57 life insurance companies saw their overall premium income experience a minor decline of 1.8%. This was a shift toward regular premium payments.

New business premiums paid on a regular basis grew by 7.8% YoY. Additionally, the total number of insured people rose by 8.6% YoY, bringing the total to 168.03 million individuals.

The industry paid out a total of $8.4b (Rp146.7t) in claims and benefits to approximately 9.59 million beneficiaries throughout the year.

Total claims actually fell by 7.8% YoY, a drop largely attributed to a 19% reduction in policy surrenders, indicating that more policyholders are maintaining their long-term coverage.

In contrast, health insurance claims rose by 9.1% YoY to $1.5b (Rp26.7t) across both individual and group plans. AAJI plans to focus heavily on health insurance management in 2026 under new regulatory guidelines to control these costs.

Total industry investments grew to $33.7b (Rp590.5t) in 2025, up from $30.9b (Rp541.6t) the year before.

The largest portion of this portfolio was allocated to government securities, which accounted for $14.2b (Rp248.3t), or roughly 42% of total investments.

The remaining funds were distributed across shares at $7.3b (Rp128.7t), mutual funds at $4.2b (Rp74.1t), corporate sukuk at $3.0b (Rp53.5t), and deposits at $1.8b (Rp32.0t).

Looking ahead, the association is preparing for the upcoming regulatory changes deadlines at the end of 2026.

These include stricter capital requirements and the mandatory spin-off of sharia business units.

The association is also rolling out new training and certification platforms to standardize marketing and agent qualifications across the sector.

Prudential Acquires Bharti Life

Prudential has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company, from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management as part of a strategic repositioning of its India operations.

Prudential said it will acquire a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance for ​initial cash consideration of 35 billion rupees ($364.74 million), ​payable on completion. An additional 7 billion rupees is ⁠potentially payable on the fulfillment of certain conditions.

Upon completion ​of the deal, Prudential said its Indian operations will consist of majority-owned Bharti Life Insurance and Prudential HCL Health Insurance, and minority shareholdings ​in two listed entities, namely 35% of ICICI Prudential ​Asset Management Company and 22% in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company.

Prudential is ‌required ⁠to reduce its shareholding in ICICIPru Life to under 10% to secure regulatory approval for the deal adding that it is engaging with regulatory authorities on ​this process.

The ​deal is a ⁠strategic move to secure majority ownership of a life insurance business in India, a ​highly attractive market for Prudential, and enables the ​insurer ⁠to work closely with Bharti Enterprises' other businesses and related entities. Bharti Life will also look into securing ⁠strategic ​distribution agreements with Bharti Airtel and ​360 ONE as part of the deal.

Reset - Malaysia Medical Insurance

The Malaysian insurance and takaful industry is expected to address any structural gaps during the pilot phase of the Malaysia Health Insurance and Takaful Initiative (MHIT), which is scheduled for rollout in the second half of 2026.

Under RESET, the base MHIT plan will begin in 2027. The insurance plan will have co-payment features, through which it will regulate the behavior of private hospitals: policyholders will pay lower co-payments when they seek treatment at healthcare facilities that charge moderate fees with fee transparency, while those charging ‘premium’ fees will result in higher co-payments.

Previously, in January 2026, BNM plans to strengthen regulatory requirements for all MHIT products following the introduction of a standardized base MHIT plan, aimed at improving consumer protection and ensuring long-term premium sustainability.

MHIT, which will be offered on a voluntary basis, is slated for pilot rollout in the second half of this year, while full implementation is targeted for early 2027.