Ageas to sell Hong Kong unit for $1.38 billion
Insurance firm Ageas says it is selling its Hong Kong business unit to JD Capital for $1.38 billion. Bloomberg reports that it will be the firm’s largest divestiture since 2008 and is part of its strategy to expand operations elsewhere. The Chinese based JD Capital will pay 1.27 times the book value of the HK life insurance unit. The Belgian-based Ageas is expanding its Asian footprint with new ventures in Vietnam and the Philippines and also holds stakes in insurance companies in China, Thailand and Malaysia. The deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2016.
Target Markets events ranked best value by insurance pros
The Target Markets Program Administrators Association events have been voted ‘best value’ by insurance companies with specialty lines operations. A survey by Reinsurance Intermediary
Guy Carpenter found that the professionals polled attend at least one annual insurance conference but say the Target Markets’ events provide excellent benefits. Heidi Strommen, president of the TMPAA. “While the Association continues to create important resources for this segment, the greatest value of Target Markets continues to be the networking and business development that comes from putting hundreds of program business professionals together at two annual events.” The Association’s 15
th Annual
Summit is scheduled for October 26-28 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Why aren’t Californians scared of earthquakes?
Figures from officials in California show that only around 10 per cent of homes in the state are insured against earthquakes despite its history of devastation. Now the state government and insurance companies are ramping up pressure on homeowners to protect their property by reminding them of the 2014 quake in Napa with a 6.0 magnitude. The Wall Street Journal says that the California Earthquake Authority is cutting the cost of its insurance policies by an average of 10 per cent. In the decade since Hurricane Katrina there is a wide belief that if a disaster happens the federal government will step in, leading to growing complacency among homeowners, who would rather not pay up to $2000 for a policy. The current campaign will target more than 9 million Californian homes with marketing materials explaining the dangers of remaining uninsured.
