Bank Negara advice on how to avoid fraud

Saturday January 15, 2011

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara wants all insurance firms and relevant parties to be more vigilant and take heed of some of its pointers to combat insurance fraud. The menace, which is in the form of deception or dishonesty for unjustified financial gain, is committed at different points in the transaction by either an insurer, agent, policy owner or third party claimant, the central bank said.

Some examples of fraud include creating a fraudulent claim, overstating the amount of losses, misrepresenting facts to receive payment and bogus agents/sale of forged cover notes. The central bank said some of the pertinent pointers one has to take to protect oneself from insurance fraud are:

• Beware of any unregistered insurance agent offering his services. If in doubt, contact your insurance company or takaful operator or the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) or the Malaysia Takaful Association (MTA) to ensure the agent is an authorised one;
• Avoid paying premiums in cash. Choose to pay for premiums by cheque, money order or Internet payment to the insurance company or takaful operator directly;
• Do not sign a blank insurance or takaful proposal form, or insurance/ takaful claim form;
• Be suspicious if the benefits and price of insurance or takaful products offered by an agent seemed suspiciously favourable compared to products offered by other insurance companies or takaful operators;
• If you meet with an accident, be careful of strangers who offer quick cash or urge you to deal with specific workshops, medical clinic or law firm. They could be part of a fraud syndicate;
• Insist on detailed bills for repairs and medical services rendered and check for accuracy; and
• If you are being defrauded, have been or are being persuaded to take part in a fraud, contact your insurance company or takaful operator, PIAM/ LIAM/ MTA or the police.

 Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/15/starprobe/7806561&sec=starprobe

Islamic finance may double in assets by 2016-D.Bank

By Shaheen Pasha

DUBAI | Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:33am EST

Nov 15 (Reuters) - The global debt crisis may help Islamic finance nearly double to $1.8 trillion in assets by 2016 as stagnant corporate lending pushes institutions to seek alternative financing to traditional methods, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

The bank forecasts that there is over $2 trillion of deleveraging in the United States and Europe, creating a financing glut for both struggling countries and countries in developed markets. But the $50 billion Islamic bonds industry, which currently makes up only 1 percent overall debt issuance, is increasingly drawing issuers, providing significant fee income growth prospects for Islamic financial institutions.

Islamic bonds, or sukuk, issuances have dominated the Gulf region in recent months. In November alone, Bahrain and Indonesia mandated banks to issue sovereign sukuk while lenders such as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Al Hilal Bank, wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, have also begun the process of issuing an Islamic bond.


Turkish banks have also emerged on the scene with sukuk issuances, providing Gulf investors with a means to diversify geographically. Islamic liquidity has also drawn interest from international players such as Goldman Sachs to create a $2 billion sukuk programme, following the success of HSBC Middle East's benchmark issue.


Deutsche Bank said the pipeline for foreign corporate issuance of sukuk could be strong going forward, given the fact that many European bluechips, struggling with the European debt crisis, are owned in part by Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds, creating opportunity to tap alternative funding.


"The Islamic credit market may represent a more feasible and shorter-term reality for the corporate space than for the sovereign space," said the report, led by Deutsche Bank analyst Ryan Ayache. But sukuk will not be the only driver of growth. Deutsche Bank expects that mortgage financing, particularly in Saudi Arabia which is facing a housing shortage, could provide $100 billion in assets to the overall industry.

Retail banking, project finance and Islamic trade finance are also expected to show significant growth as the global Muslim population grows and the gross domestic products (GDP) of Muslim countries outpace global GDP.

Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/15/islamic-growth-deutschebank-idUSL5E7MF1Q920111115

Joint Insurance-Takaful Council paves way for unified approach

Published: Monday September 26, 2011 MYT 3:16:00 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) Three insurance associations have entered into an agreement to form the Joint Insurance-Takaful Council (JITC), marking another milestone for the development of the insurance and takaful sectors in Malaysia.

The Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) in a joint statement today said it is in line with the objective to further liberalise and create harmonisation of the financial services sector, the JITC would foster a higher level of self-regulation of the industry.

The formation of the JITC will pave the way for a unified approach in ensuring consistency in rules, regulations and guidelines across the three sectors and resolve inter-sector complaints or disputes amicably.
Each association would be represented by three nominees at the JITC, the associations said.
PIAM, LIAM and MTA are the foremost associations that represents member companies in the general insurance, life insurance and takaful sectors respectively. - BERNAMA

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/26/business/20110926152720&sec=business

Etiqa eyes RM7.5b gross written premiums

Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 04.25 PM

Etiqa Insurance and Takaful expects its overall gross written premiums (GWP) to increase to RM7.5 billion by 2015 from RM4.3 billion this year.

Etiqa's current GWP places it second below Great Eastern with GWP amounting to RM5.6 billion.

"It is definitely an achievable target for us considering our solid financial strength and as we increase our GWP from RM2.8 billion in 2006 to RM4.3 billion this year, making us a strong number two in the market," said its chief executive officer Hans de Cuyper.

At a media briefing here today, he said Etiqa Takaful is one of the key players in the development of the takaful industry in Malaysia, being the first takaful company in the world to exceed RM2 billion in contributions in 2011.

He also said the amount  was achieved only three years after its takaful contributions touched RM1 billion.
"We have been able to double the revenues for our takaful business in three years' time and by now we are definitely the biggest takaful company in the world," he added.

He said market position is viewed at a combined basis of the insurance premiums and takaful contributions in relation to other industry players.

Although Etiqa is one brand with two separate entities -- insurance and takaful -- he said he wants both to prosper regardless of where the business flows into.

He added that on a combined basis, Etiqa is the second biggest insurance and takaful company in Malaysia.

"With an institution like Maybank behind us, we are definitely going to achieve and maintain our leadership in takaful and insurance," he said referrrig to the company's 2015 target.

De Cuyper said they have the widest distribution platform in the country with Maybank being the bancassurance partner.

Other moves taken by Etiqa in realising the target are upgrading the infrastructure, optimising operations, introduction of new products and looking into humanising insurance and takaful.

"Our goal is to be the market leader in the Malaysian insurance and takaful industry and we will not lose sight of the goal," he said. --Bernama

Source : http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20111020185428/Article/index_html

 

Etiqa may consider M&A to become largest insurer

Friday October 21, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) insurance and takaful arm Mayban Ageas Holdings Bhd, better known by the brand name Etiqa, is keeping options open on expansion plans going forward, as it targets to become the country's largest insurer by 2015.

Etiqa, formed four years ago after a merger with Malaysia National Insurance Bhd and Takaful Nasional Sdn Bhd, is 69.05% owned by Maybank with the remainder stake owned by Ageas Insurance International. It distributes insurance and takaful products under the Etiqa brand name.At a media briefing to introduce Etiqa's new senior management line-up, its chief executive officer Hans de Cuyper said the insurer was open to growing either organically or via mergers and acquisitions (M&As), but this would depend on circumstances.

de Cuyper: ‘We believe it (the award of wealth management licences) may be by year-end.’caption

 

He said the insurer had concentrated on organic growth so far as it focused on the merger master plan. “If any potential acquisitions can add to our strength, fit into our financial ambitions and culture, then we may consider it.”.

The insurer targets to be the overall industry leader by 2015 through a strategy of maintaining its position as the largest takaful distributor and growing faster than the industry average for conventional life insurance.
“Based on our own extrapolation, we can be the largest insurer by 2015 by growing top line to RM7.5bil from RM4.3bil currently. That alone will be sufficient to be at the top,” de Cuyper said. The largest insurer by top line at the moment is Great Eastern Life.

De Cuyper said from now until the beginning of next year, the insurer would also be growing market share via the launch of various life and family insurance products. He said this was in line with the industry trend, which was seeing a shift towards more life and family products over general insurance. “Through Maybank's regional footprint, we can also distribute bancassurance and takaful products,” De Cuyper said. He said Etiqa was also gearing up for the award of wealth management licences under the private pension framework that was announced in Budget 2011. “We don't have any indication of when the licences will be given out but we believe it may be by year-end. We're working very hard on this,” de Cuyper said.

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/21/business/9738557&sec=business

Takaful-focused insurer bought by run-off investment specialists

Author: Emmanuel Kenning

Source: Insurance Age | 19 Oct 2011

Randall & Quilter has agreed to buy Principle Insurance for £4.275m cash.

 

Principle has been in run-off since October 2009. It was launched and received Financial Services Authority approval in 2008 with the aim of meeting the motor and home insurance needs of the country's Muslim population as the only Shariah-compliant insurance provider in Britain at the time.
The provider, which consists of almost entirely of Takaful motor insurance business, had net reserves of approximately £2.8m on 30 June 2011. The latest available audited accounts to 31 December 2010 revealed a net asset value of £5.1m.

It is the second occasion that the company has announced a sale having previously agreed to dispose of the business to the Al Salam Group with the stated intention at the time of re-commening trading.
Tom Booth, chief financial officer at Randall & Quilter told Insurance Age that the purchase, which will be managed by R&Q Insurance Services, was a good acquisition with relatively short-tail business.
"We aim to run it off effectively and to manage and pay the claims efficiently. Then to wind the company up and extract the [remaining] capital," he said.

Ken Randall, chief executive officer of Randall & Quilter, said of the acquisition: "We are pleased to have reached agreement to acquire Principle and it demonstrates our commitment to find new legacy portfolios which meet our return criteria and have shorter anticipated run-off profiles.
"We have commented that our pipeline has grown in recent times and it is pleasing to report that this heightened activity has now resulted in a run-off company purchase, subject to regulatory approval, expected to be received in the coming months."

Randall & Quilter has a portfolio of nine insurance companies in run-off, from the UK, US and Europe, with net assets £72.2m as at 30 June 2011.

Source : http://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurance-age/news/2118260/takaful-focused-insurer-bought-run-investment-specialists#ixzz21WanH7dm

Takaful Malaysia To Pay RM9.36 Million Dividend

October 19, 2011 20:18 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad (Takaful Malaysia) announced Wednesday its declaration of interim dividend of 7 per cent which will result in a payout amounting to RM9.36 million for its financial year ending Dec 31, 2011.

The company said in a statement dividend payments will be made on Dec 2 to depositors who transfer shares into their securities account before 4pm on Nov 11.

"The Group recorded operating revenue of RM636.2 million comprising RM532.5 million in gross contribution and RM103.7 million in investment income during the financial period ended June 30, representing an increase of 8.3 per cent over the same period last year of RM587.2 million," said Takaful Malaysia Group managing director Datuk Mohamed Hassan Kamil.

He said the Group also attained a favourable profit before zakat and taxation of RM49.9 million, representing a growth of 134 per cent over the same period last year of RM21.3 million.

On the six months financial result, Mohamed Hassan said the gross contribution was mainly attributable to its Family Takaful Group business, motor and fire class of business.

He added the company's new distribution channel, the 'Wakalah' or retail agency model launched in March 2010, was the main contributor to its Family Takaful Group business.

-- BERNAMA
Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=621065