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.

Informal Workers Insurance Indonesia

Indonesia is cutting work accident and death insurance premiums in half for non-wage earners. The discount targets informal workers including traders, influencers, and ride-hailing drivers.

The transportation segment covers app-based drivers, non-app drivers, and couriers, with the discount running January 2026 to March 2027. Other informal worker categories receive the discount from April through December 2026.

The policy lowers contributions so more informal workers can be protected. Coverage benefits remain intact even though premiums are reduced. Benefits continue to include accident compensation, death benefits, and family scholarships. The scheme aims to sustain participation among informal workers under macroeconomic strain.

Eligible groups also include freelancers, fishermen, and farmers alongside traders and drivers. Influencers are explicitly named as recipients of the discount.

The government separately set a minimum Religious Holiday Bonus standard for digital platform workers. The benchmark equals 25% of the worker's average net income over twelve months.

The combination of premium relief and the bonus benchmark aim to broaden the safety net for informal workers. Implementation will run through the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan enrollment system.

Risk Base Pricing Motor Insurance

Motor vehicle insurance in Malaysia could be priced with greater dependence on a driver’s safety, aimed at reducing road crashes and rewarding responsible motorists. The proposed risk-based pricing model for motor insurance aims to reward safer driver lower premiums.

Currently, there is a degree of cross-subsidization where lower-­risk motorists are offsetting the higher claim cost of others. PIAM is working closely with Bank Negara Malaysia and related government agencies to see how we can further improve road safety and behavior.

In comparison with the current motor insurance framework that rewards drivers based on their no-claims discount (NCD) claims history, the risk-based pricing model incorporates a wider range of factors, including driving behavior, accident frequency, traffic offences, vehicle usage patterns and other relevant underwriting indicators in order to more accurately reflect an individual’s risk exposure.

Risk-based pricing is already standard for most insurance products, such as medical insurance. Pricing depends on the cost incurred through claims, which are then translated into the premiums paid. While motor insurance remains a regulated industry, any enhancements to the framework implemented must remain fair, transparent and appropriate for consumers. The end goal is to reduce the number of road accidents and road fatality rates.

A major pillar of the initiative is to build supporting infrastructure with industry, ideally requiring reliable, timely data from relevant enforcement and regulatory agencies to establish a comprehensive, integrated claims and risk database.

This allows better predictive modelling, allows early identification of high‑risk driving patterns, supports incentivizing good driving behavior and identifies interventions required for risky driving behavior in alignment with the public road safety agenda.

The motor insurance segment of the general insurance industry posted losses of RM289.3 million in 2025.  where a combined ratio of 103% reflected that claims payout exceeded premiums collected, and the average cost per claim increased by about 20% to RM8,831 in 2025.

Medical Tourism Penang, Malaysia

Penang recorded strong growth in its medical tourism sector, with foreign patient numbers rising to 527,176 in 2025. This represents a 25.94 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

The increase in medical tourism generated revenue of up to RM1.136 billion, which is a 26.6 per cent annual increase compared to RM898.07 million in 2024. The data from the Penang Centre of Medical Tourism (PMED), covering 16 private hospitals in the state, showed foreign patient numbers stood at 418,608 in 2024.

Penang is also actively promoting medical tourism overseas, including in China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Myanmar, in collaboration with Penang Global Tourism, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council and Tourism Malaysia.

Malaysia General Insurance 2025

Malaysia’s general insurance industry recorded higher underwriting profits in 2025, with gains in fire, marine, and personal accident classes helping to counter continued losses in motor, according to data from the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM).

Industry results and business composition
PIAM reported that the general insurance market generated gross written premium (GWP) of RM24.2 billion in 2025, up 4.8% from RM23.1 billion a year earlier. Underwriting profit increased to RM1.2 billion, RM125 million higher than in 2024, with the industry’s overall combined ratio reported at about 93%. Motor insurance remained the largest class of business, contributing 45.2% of total premiums. Fire insurance accounted for 20.9%, while personal accident (PA) represented 6.5%. Taken together, motor, fire, and PA delivered overall premium growth of 6.1% for the general insurance sector in 2025.

Motor premiums grow, but line remains in loss
Motor GWP rose to RM10.9 billion in 2025, representing year-on-year growth of 5.0%, compared with 6.7% in 2024. Despite the increase in premiums, the motor segment remained in an underwriting loss position, with a deficit of RM289.3 million and a combined ratio of 103%. The modest improvement of 0.7 percentage point in the combined ratio relative to 2024 was linked to stricter underwriting practices. However, higher costs in the private car segment continued to push claims above premiums. Claims experience reflected both sustained frequency and higher average claim amounts. Private car claim frequency remained above 7% during 2025, with higher incidence observed in high-volume models such as the Proton X50 and X70, where a larger share of drivers are younger. Average claim severity for private cars increased to RM8,831, reflecting spare parts inflation across models including the Proton Saga and Proton X50.

Fire, MAT, and PA provide underwriting support
Fire insurance, the second-largest class in the portfolio, posted GWP of RM5.0 billion in 2025, compared with RM4.7 billion in 2024, an increase of 6.9%. The line reported underwriting profit of RM700.8 million and a combined ratio of 69.5%. Premium growth in fire was attributed to higher sums insured on residential sub-sales and rising rebuild costs, with more exposure associated with older landed properties in suburban areas.

Marine, aviation, and transit (MAT) business saw a small decline in top-line premium but remained profitable overall. MAT GWP decreased 2.2% to RM1.79 billion from RM1.83 billion in 2024, amid softer conditions in offshore oil-related and cargo segments. These two segments accounted for 37.6% and 33.9% of the MAT portfolio, respectively. The MAT class generated underwriting profit of RM108.1 million with a combined ratio of 73.1%, lower than the RM161.8 million in underwriting profit reported for 2024. Cargo and marine hull lines together accounted for nearly 90% of MAT business.

Personal accident insurance continued to expand in volume. GWP in PA rose 12.2% to RM1.6 billion in 2025 from RM1.4 billion in 2024. Higher demand for travel insurance, in line with ongoing recovery in outbound travel since 2023, together with wider adoption of digital distribution and a firmer economic backdrop, supported premium growth. Policy uptake was particularly strong for destinations where the ringgit provides relatively higher purchasing power.

Electric Vehicles Fire Risk

There has been speculation online that electric vehicles (EVs) pose a major fire risk and that insurance companies may refuse to cover damages if an EV catches fire at home or inside a building car park. However, the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) says standard fire insurance policies generally still apply regardless of whether the fire was caused by an EV, a petrol-powered vehicle or other electrical sources. PIAM said that the fire insurance coverage is based on the fire incident itself, and not specifically the type of vehicle involved.

Higher Fire Risk - According to available data and statistics do not indicate that EVs have a higher fire risk compared to petrol or diesel vehicles. In fact, PIAM said ICE vehicles currently present a higher fire exposure risk than EVs.

Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA) has also stated that the risk of fire in EV is far lower than combustion vehicles. Data from the United States and Europe, which showed that EVs catch fire less frequently than gasoline-powered cars.

There were 1,530 fires per 100,000 gasoline vehicles (1.53%) and 3,475 fires per 100,000 hybrid vehicles (3.48%). Meanwhile, there were 25 fires per 100,000 EVs (0.025%).

2025 Industry Performance - PIAM’s latest industry report, fire insurance remained one of the strongest-performing business segments for Malaysia’s general insurance industry in 2025.

PIAM said fire insurance recorded RM5.0 billion in Gross Written Premium (GWP) last year, representing 20.9% of the overall portfolio and making it the industry’s second-largest business line after motor insurance.

The segment also posted an underwriting profit of RM700.8 million with a Combined Ratio of 69.5%.

Fire insurance growth was driven largely by higher rebuild costs and inflation in residential property values, especially for older landed homes in suburban areas.