Ping An Starts Cash-Free Premium Payment System
Ping An Life Insurance Company of China Ltd., a major subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) of China Ltd. [55699], said it has implemented “cash-free” premium charging and claims payment services across the country in order to avoid insurance capital defalcation.
According to Ping An, under the cash-free service, the life insurer basically collects premium and pays insurance claims through an account transfer system from banks, telephones and the Internet.
For those who have to settle insurance payments and claims transactions in cash, Ping An said consumers can still handle their transactions in the life insurer’s sales networks in person.
The Shenzhen-based life insurer claims to be the first of its kind that provides the cash-free service in China.
When compared with the traditional insurance transaction channels, the Chinese insurer said the cash-free service provides a quick and convenient channel to protect customers’ capital safety, and also effectively strengthen the company’s regulatory operations. The system also helps the insurer solve the risk of collecting and paying insurance capital.
Ping An said it already has developed an account transfer platform for the four largest state-owned Chinese banks and post offices.
—Rebecca Ng


Birla Sun Life Partners With GY on India Microinsurance
Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. [90264], said it has been selected to partner with U.K.-based GY Associated Ltd. to promote a sustainable livelihood program in three Indian states — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh — by offering microinsurance solutions to more than 100,000 people.
According to Birla Sun Life, the development project, valued at £4.6 million (US$6.4 million), has been funded by the U.K. government’s Department for International Development and initiated by the U.K.-based Research Into Use project. The funding would span across the next three years.
GY Associates is the lead partner for the project. It also has a contractual agreement with India’s Centre for Promoting Sustainable Livelihood, a nongovernmental organization based in eastern India’s Patna city that forms self-help groups, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to provide technical support to the project.
The CPSL has selected Birla Sun Life to provide microinsurance to help more than 100,000 self-help group members. It is expected that the project will cover a total of 500,000 direct beneficiaries in the rural areas in India, said Birla Sun Life.
Ajay Srinivasan, chief executive of Aditya Birla Group, said Birla Sun Life will “create awareness of the need of life insurance.”
—Rebecca Ng


Sompo, Nipponkoa to Merge Into New Company
Japan’s Sompo Insurance Inc. [85258] and Nipponkoa Insurance Co. Ltd. [84413] will be merged to form a new holding company by April 2010, according to a joint statement by the two nonlife insurers.
The merger will create the third-largest nonlife insurance company in Japan, with total assets of ¥9.1 trillion (US$92.6 billion) and capital of ¥161 billion, based on their consolidated financial results as of year-end 2008.
The integrated insurance group would have posted total net written premium of ¥2,067 billion and net income of ¥69 billion in the fiscal year, which ended March 2008.
The two nonlife insurers plan to merge under a “holding company” structure through a joint stock transfer. The companies will be de-listed after each becomes a unit under the joint holding company, which will then apply to list again under the new structure.
The name of the holding company is yet to be decided and transaction terms will be set by this July. The new combined group will focus on its business in Japan by sharing business platforms with the aims of sustainable growth, management efficiency and bolstering competitiveness.
In the wake of stiffer economic conditions, consolidation among nonlife insurance companies has become a strategic trend in Japan as insurers look to expand their business foundations and client bases and cut operational costs.
The two insurers said a declining birth rate and aging population in Japan, global climate change and diversified consumer demands were underlying factors driving them to “take proper actions” for business integration.
The new insurance group also will look for overseas business expansion with high growth potential through “consideration of merger and acquisition” activities and a “review of existing sales networks,” said the insurers.
—Rebecca Ng