China Life Insurance Co, the nation’s largest life insurer, said profit fell 36% in the first nine months of this year as stock-market declines and low bond yields weighed on investment returns.
Net income dropped to 35.5 billion yuan (RM23.18 billion) this year through Sept 30, from 55.5 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a statement on Thursday, based on new accounting standards effective this year. That compared with an 8% decline in the first half.
China’s equity-market rout this year and lower interest rates have weighed on insurers’ investment returns at a time when they are starting to adopt new accounting rules that better reflect market prices of assets. While premiums income has been recovering since pandemic curbs ended late last year, growth slowed in the third quarter as the surge in sales of savings products eased.
Insurance technology provider Igloo has partnered with smartphone manufacturers Oppo and realme to provide protection and after-sales services in Southeast Asia. Under the agreement, consumers can now purchase Oppo Care and realme+ Care online as well at selected service centres.
Oppo Care features screen protection plans starting at US$0.074 per day and realme+ Care provides extended warranty, accidental warranty and screen damage protection plans for US$0.0035 per day.
The partnership provides a smoother customer purchase experience. Before, after-sales services were offered online but with the recent collaboration, customers can now purchase the services from Oppo and realme’s official websites and other distribution channels.
The new services were launched in the Philippines with realme and in Singapore with Oppo. The companies plan to launch the services in other markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Through its agreement with Igloo, Oppo and realme’s customers can now seamlessly access and purchase official warranties through a dedicated customer portal, automatically synchronizing with the smartphone brands’ databases for updates in real time.
Igloo streamlines the process by simplifying registration through a QR code that directs customers to the portal, making the distribution more efficient and elevating customers’ in-store experience.
The collaboration comes as smartphone penetration rates in the Philippines and Singapore are expected to increase to 90% and 96% respectively by 2030, according to data from GSMA. The surge shows how mobile insurance should be more easily accessible and straightforward as mobile devices are more likely to get damaged than any other electronic device in Southeast Asia.
Insurance technology company Gmat (pronounced “jimat”) Sdn Bhd has launched its “Insurance Rahmah” and two other insurance products.Insurance Rahmah is an affordable insurance product targeted particularly at B40 communities. It provides personal accident coverage of up to RM50,000 due to death or total permanent disability. It also covers dengue illness and death due to dengue.
The premium is only RM50 per year or RM4+ per month. There is a takaful and a non-takaful option.Gmat will work with DHRRA Malaysia to create awareness and promote Insurance Rahmah to unserved and underserved communities, and aims to have one million Malaysians insured within the next 12 months.
Informal survey conducted among urban poor communities revealed that only one out of 10 families have some form of insurance coverage.
Gmat’s other new products are hiker’s insurance priced from RM3 for a three-day trip and car insurance comparison service offering between 10% and 30% in savings for renewal of car insurance. Digital road tax can also be purchased with zero service charge.
The former chairman of the Bank of China has been arrested over suspicions of bribery and giving illegal loans. Liu Liange, chairman of the state-owned bank from 2019 to 2023, had resigned from his position in March this year. Weeks later, authorities announced Mr Liu was facing corruption charges.
The 62-year-old is one of the most senior bankers to be ensnared in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption probe into China's $60 trillion (£49 trillion) financial sector. The push to weed out corruption from the country's financial industry appears to be ramping up, with officials in April warning that the crackdown was far from over.
Several high profile financial executives from state-owned banks have already been fined, jailed or under investigation - with former chairman of China Life Insurance Wang Bin sentenced to life in prison without parole for bribery
Mr Liu's arrest comes just about a week after he was expelled from China's ruling Communist Party following accusations of wrongdoing by the country's top anti-graft watchdog China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The regulator accused Mr Liu of a range of illicit activities which led to significant financial risks.
These include accusations of illegally granting loans, bringing banned publications into the country and using his position in the bank to accept bribes and other perks such as invitations to private clubs and ski resorts.
Mr Liu had been a prominent figure in China's banking and financial sector, and had held senior positions in China's central bank and the Export-Import Bank of China. He was promoted to become chairman of the Bank of China in 2019.
The Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Southern Taiwan has busted a disability insurance fraud group case implicating a couple who also collaborated with an insurance agent.
The married pair, surnamed Kang and Li, aided 11 policyholders in faking serious medical conditions like strokes to file false insurance claims. Over a two-year period, this group amassed NT$7.59 million (US$236,000) from insurance premiums. The couple took a 20% share from each claim.
All 13 individuals involved were interrogated. When police visited the homes of those possessing disability certificates, their condition appeared normal, allowing them to move freely without assistance. Following the interrogations, Kang and Li, along with the other individuals, confessed to the insurance fraud. All 13 individuals were then handed over to the Tainan district prosecutor's office for further investigation and face charges of fraud.
Fraud investigation timeline - During the investigation, it was disclosed that the couple also had prior convictions for fraud. They were acquainted with an insurance agent named Xu, who would reach out to the policyholders and promote disability insurance.
The couple would then wait for six months to a year before instructing the policyholders to mimic symptoms of a suspected stroke, such as one-sided limb weakness and numbness, after which they would seek medical attention.
To ensure the deception remained undetected during medical examinations, Kang reportedly instructed the policyholders to feign symptoms of physical paralysis, speech impairment, and dementia. They were coached to inform doctors that a stroke would impair their ability to earn a living.
After receiving medical diagnoses of strokes, the policyholders claimed disability insurance payouts. Starting in 2020 until their exposure in August, at least 11 individuals feigned illness and applied for compensation.
Home Visit Inspection - During home inspections by assessors, Li demonstrated how to pretend to be paralysed in a chair and even aided claimants in changing their diapers. Subsequently, the realization that all the policyholders were assisted by the same agent, lived in Tainan, and travelled to Kaohsiung for medical consultations raised suspicions of an organized insurance fraud scheme. This led to the CBI filing a case.
Police evidence indicated that, despite having medical reports suggesting paralysis due to strokes, the policyholders were physically active, engaging in activities like running and kung fu. Their social media accounts also showcased pictures of them driving go-karts.
The increase in insured monthly salary ceiling from RM5,000 to RM6,000 will come into effect after the amendments to Employees Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4) and the Employment Insurance System (EIS) Act 2017 (Act 800).
The increase will benefit workers and their dependents if employees suffer a workplace accident, illness, disability, death or job loss. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling the Malaysia Madani Budget 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat, said the increase would raise the cash benefits at a rate of 20.2 per cent for the benefit of 1.45 million workers and their dependents.
The government allocated more than RM200 million to the Ministry of Human Resources (KSM) through the Social Security Organisation (Socso) in the Budget 2024 to strengthen the social protection network and drive the labour market, in line with the federal government’s structural reform agenda.
In the meantime, he said the policy of one per cent employment opportunity for the disabled, which will be extended to ex-convicts and the elderly, will be implemented in various ministries, government-linked investment companies (GLIC) and government-linked companies (GLC) as well as the government’s strategic partners.
The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has issued four compound notices for RM1 million to East West Horizon Plantation Bhd (EWHPB), its two directors and a manager for breaching Section 46(1) of the Interest Schemes Act 2016.
SSM said EWHPB and another company, known as East West One Consortium Bhd (EWOCB), both offered interest schemes in the form of shared farming investments related to palm oil cultivation and managed by East West One Group (EWOG).
An interest scheme is a way of doing business and involves the pooling of financial contributions from the public in exchange for an interest in a particular scheme. They were investigated by the commission following complaints lodged against them.
The investigation was carried out following 46 complaints and reports received by the agency involving the two companies from April to September last year. On Sept 25, SSM opened an investigation paper and carried out a physical inspection at the management offices of the companies concerned, as well as the palm oil plantation to examine the issues raised.
