The 2018 Asian Actuarial Conference (AAC) opened on September 17, with over 700 experts in the actuarial and insurance sectors from across the globe discussing the most important industry issues.
The conference was presented by the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong (ASHK) and the Asian Actuarial Congress and was opened by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (pictured centre).
“We live in a fast-changing world with opportunities arising from technological advances and national development strategies including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development,” Lam said in her opening address. “Hong Kong has been sharpening our competitive edge to capture opportunities ahead, and our fundamentals as an insurance hub will be further strengthened. For professionals in the actuarial and insurance industry, Hong Kong is the place to be.”
According to Simon Lam, ASHK president, the 2018 conference examines how the insurance and actuarial industries can help facilitate global growth by managing risks for pan-regional development initiatives such as the Belt and Road. The three-day conference tackles the key issues reshaping the insurance landscape, including the fast-changing demography of Asia, technological innovations, evolving risks, and the region’s current capital and regulatory landscape.
He also highlighted the importance of actuarial talent to Hong Kong.
“As Hong Kong vies to become a risk management hub regionally and globally, the ASHK announced last month the introduction of its local actuarial examination to ensure the very highest standards of professionalism of the city’s actuarial industry,” he said.
Andrew Weir, regional senior partner for Hong Kong at KPMG China, moderated a plenary session on the Belt and Road and gave a speech titled ‘The Belt and Road Initiative, From Rhetoric to Reality’.
Meanwhile, R. Dale Hall, managing director of research at the Society of Actuaries shared his insights on retirement risks and opportunities in Asia-Pacific. The population of Asia is ageing at an unprecedented rate, placing considerable strain on the pension systems of most Asian markets as they struggle to provide adequate income replacement to the retirees.
Other speakers include Perkin Shek, head of savings and retirement at AXA, who will speak about the most compelling types of insurance solutions for an ageing population and the huge demand for innovative insurance products to address this growing population. Tomohiro Kawaguchi, consulting actuary for Mercer, will explain the differences between how financial wellness is perceived and presented in Japan and the Philippines.
Guangyue Zhu, director of actuarial service at Gen Re, will discuss how the internet is transforming the way insurance is sold in China, driven by a supportive regulatory environment, an underserved middle class buying insurance for the first time, and rising awareness of the need for protection and long-term savings. This has led to a 71-fold expansion in online premium income and a 7.2% increase in insurance penetration from 2012 to 2016, according to data from the Insurance Association of China.
