Sun Life unit sees growth surge
Sun Life of Canada is expecting a surge in business in one of the emerging insurance markets this year. Sun Life Philippines is expected to benefit from better economic conditions and build on growth from its first two quarters of 2015. Its president Riza Mantaring told Inquirer.net that “It’s so far the strongest growth we’ve had in the last five years in terms of new business.” The unit saw new business grow by 39 per cent in the first quarter of the year and expects the whole-year growth to be in excess of 30 per cent. Sun Life isn’t the only insurer in the market to see strong growth; the Philippines has an increasing number of workers in the C1 and C2 demographics who are seeking insurance coverage. Previously insurance was only popular with A and B demographic groups.
Insurance start-ups aim to disrupt the industry with social links
A handful of start-up insurance solutions in Europe are tapping into the growth of social sharing in order to offer a new insurance broker business model. CNBC reports that businesses such as Guevara, Friendsurance and Inspeer allows friends to group their policies together with claims coming from a common pool of funds and surplus cash returned to participators or rolled over for continued coverage. The social element of these start-ups is the key as the risk of friends’ funds has an impact on the behaviour of those insured; no-one wants to let their friends down, or cost them money. This model though is not bad news for the insurance companies as the model is proving to be effective in cutting claims and incidents of fraud. The German firm Friendsurance’s Tim Kunde told CNBC: "Insurance companies love us because people are happier, more loyal, and are saving tangibly." The firm has 60 insurance partners.
Warning over critical infrastructure cyber-risk
The risk of a cyber-attack on critical infrastructure possibly resulting in the loss of life has been highlighted in a new report from The
Aspen Institute and Intel Security. The poll of IT executives in critical infrastructure organizations found that 86 per cent want more public-private intelligence sharing and 76 per cent believe a national defense force should respond when a cyber-attack damages a critical infrastructure company within national borders. Although the report shows that companies have strengthened security in response to cyber threats, there is also an increasing number and complexity of attacks. Almost half of all respondents (48%) believe it is likely that a cyberattack on critical infrastructure, with the potential to result in the loss of human life, could happen within the next three years.
