RSA mainstay named group underwriting director
Leading global insurer RSA has appointed one of its long-time executives, Nathan Williams, as the new group underwriting director.
Williams will start his new role on June 1, replacing David Coughlan who was recently appointed personal lines director for UK and Western Europe.
In his new role, Williams will lead the development and implementation of the insurance group’s underwriting, reinsurance and claims strategies and technical pricing standards. He will also set the company’s appetite for risk.
Williams will be joining the insurance group’s executive team, reporting to RSA COO Paul Whittaker.
“Strong underwriting discipline and effective claims management are essential pillars to our strategy and I look forward to Nathan bringing his experience and expertise to help us deliver a stronger, focused and better RSA,” Whittaker said.
Williams, a 28-year veteran in the insurance industry, said he is “delighted to play a leading role in moving our capabilities to the next level.”
Williams has worked at RSA for over 10 years, most recently as chief underwriting officer at RSA Scandinavia.
Before joining RSA, Williams severed in various pricing and underwriting roles at Norwich Union for 16 years.
Insurance agent behind drone protest attempt in Hong Kong
A former insurance agent has admitted buying a drone for an opposition activist who plans to hold a protest during a Chinese official’s visit to Hong Kong this week.
Kwok Wah-chung recently told police investigators that a certain "Tsang X-shing" asked him to buy a drone in Shenzhen City, according to The Standard, citing a report by state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The report said Kwok might be referring to Tsang Kin-shing, a former legislator and member of the League of Social Democrats.
Tsang had also admitted that he had asked Kwok to buy a drone for him, the report added.
The two last met during the Occupy movement in 2014, but Tsang said they first got to know each other in 1989 during an event organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.
According to The Standard report, Tsang confessed that he intended to use the drone in a protest during this week’s visit of Zhang Dejiang, a Chinese politician and a high-ranking official in the Communist Party of China.
Meanwhile, Kwok also said that he was a "long-time sponsor of many members of the opposition camp" in Hong Kong, where police plan to ban the use of drones during Zhang’s visit.
Aside from his links to the opposition camp, Kwok is also accused of being the mastermind of a gang that allegedly sells Hong Kong identity cards being used for illegal businesses including crimes related to credit cards, money laundering and telecom fraud.
On May 6, authorities arrested Kwok and four other suspected gang members, The Standard reported.
Pay-as-you-use ride share insurance launched in Singapore
Axa Singapore and ride-sharing service GrabCar have launched a new usage-based insurance scheme that seeks to reduce premiums for private car owners driving for the popular transportation app.
Called Axa Pay-As-You-Grab, the new policy allows private motorists under the GrabCar chauffeur service to pay for their insurance according to mileage clocked in on paid trips, The Straits Times reported.
The scheme aims to encourage more private car owners to drive for Grab since it enables them to save up to 30% on commercial auto insurance premiums.
“We are making it more affordable for new drivers who may be sitting on the sidelines," The Straits Times quoted Head of Grab Singapore Lim Kell Jay as saying.
According to the report, policyholders will pay 70% of the base premium and another 6 cents per kilometre driven, which is capped at 100% of the base premium.
The Grab app will measure the mileage, which is only clocked when a driver takes on a GrabCar job, and not during personal travel.
The new policy will also provide coverage for third-party liability, including the injury or death of a passenger, according to a report by Today Online. Payment can be made in instalments over 12 months.
The report said that for GrabCar drivers using other ride-hailing platforms, the policy will still provide coverage in case of an accident.
However, the deductibles will amount to SG$5,000 if the accident occurs on a non-Grab ride, much higher than the SG$2,000 during a Grab ride.
