This new series of blog posts, published on Healthcare Town Hall, focuses on the medical underwriting and risk adjustment practices of eight countries: Australia, Ghana, Ireland, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, and United Arab Emirates.

Life insurers around the world are coping with an economic slowdown, political risk, evolving regulations, and more. Here's a look at the situation – and what they are doing about it.

Takaful is an Islamic insurance concept that provides consumers with an acceptable alternative to conventional insurance, which many view as not conforming to their religious heritage. LIMRA talks with Ruthine Williams-Baron, research analyst with International Research at LIMRA, about the origins of Takaful, what makes it different from conventional insurance, and its current growth in the Malaysian market.

The number of elderly in India has steadily increased in the past six decades. Their percentage to total population recently has been declining but is masked by the increasing number of younger members.

A new special report on India's insurance market from A.M. Best

This research focuses on the relation between heat events and the distribution of mortality rates. The main goals are to clarify whether heat immediately leads to an increase in daily mortality and, if so, which term structure of the relation can be singled out.

Life insurance companies are looking into sound and innovative underwriting practices in a race to offer new products, serve customers and maintain persistency in Asia's rapidly expanding and changing marketplace, according to panelists participating in a Best's Review's webinar.

Debo Ajayi, Lead and Managing Consultant of Milliman's Dubai office, discusses the inherent fairness and transparency of Takaful insurance.

Since 2011, premium income in China’s life insurance market has declined due to nascent regulatory activity according to a report, China Insurance Market and Technology Trends 2011, authored by Wenli Yuan, a Senior Analyst with Celent’s Asian Financial Services Group, Celent, Boston MA.

Look to the Eastern Hemisphere for tomorrow’s top urban players in the global economy, says this study from McKinsey Quarterly.

Survey of C-level life insurance executives (covering CEOs, CFOs, Appointed Actuaries and Chief Actuaries) to gauge their views on some topical issues currently affecting the Indian life insurance industry.

Capital injections into Indian life insurance companies have dropped off since the global financial crisis, and the industry now faces a major challenge in obtaining the capital it needs. In addition to other factors, it is likely that recent IRDA guidelines that cap charges on unit-linked products are slowing investment of capital into the business. This paper discusses the steps that policymakers and the IRDA should take to increase industry access to capital, in order to support growth in the future.

Marthat Barata et al. address the economic impact of climate change on health with a special focus on Brazil. The authors stress the challenges this trend implies for insurance.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) is part of a coalition that is asking the government of Brazil to change new reinsurance regulations.

Insurance groups from Europe, Asia and the Americas are joining to object to the new rules, according to the ACLI, Washington.

The Indian life insurance sector has grown to be the world’s 11th largest in just 10 years. A younger workforce, a rise in personal incomes, market competition and regulatory initiatives make this a market to watch.

How international groups can make the most of the rapid growth in the insurance market of the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA).

Addresses an interesting case currently being litigated in the European Union challenging the long-established right of insurers to charge gender-specific rates.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Insurance Digest on how international groups can make the most of the rapid growth in the insurance market of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Locally led social movements are required to reverse the obesity pandemic. Governments are in a uniquely powerful position to catalyze these movements.

While public health care benefits continue to be scaled back in many markets, employer-sponsored health plans have grown exponentially. As the demand for these benefits has grown, so has the cost of providing them — our survey found that the cost has risen rapidly since 2006 in nearly all markets, and trends for 2011 are projected to be even higher than last year. The rise in medical costs is rapidly becoming one of the greatest financial challenges for multinational companies.

The size of the U.K. life market shrank much more drastically between 2007 and 2009 than the size of other major European life markets did.

Examines Dai-ichi’s recent demutualization and the underlying market trends that led to it, as well as key challenges facing the listed life insurance sector in Japan.

The two market collapses of the past decade have spurred many insurers to rethink their approach to investing. When markets rise rapidly and steadily, seeing only short term dips, as in the 1990s, it becomes easy to confuse investment savvy with a bull market. But the recent market turmoil has forced many insurers to reassess their investment and risk management capabilities.

Swiss Re on what consumers really think about life insurance, about our industry, about our products.

Microinsurance is insurance that enables low-income people, mostly in the developing world, to avoid the debt traps that often imperil their livelihoods and even their lives. Microinsurance provides life, health, and other unique forms of insurance, providing limited benefits for very low premiums. We spoke with Milliman consultant Lisa Morgan about some of the ins and outs of this intriguing and relatively new innovation in the insurance industry. Morgan was recently approved as a provider with the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO), offering her expertise in designing and pricing financially sustainable products to organisations with identified needs for microinsurance. She is also involved in the ILO's Consulting and Capacity Building Programme.

A.M. Best report says growth of new business in 2009 was strong compared to prior years, but challenges remain.

U.S.-based Chubb was among several international firms recognized for achievements and best practices in the financial, business world.

Life insurers have suffered since the financial crisis and the economic downturn, and it is difficult to predict what is going to happen to this market in 2010, and maybe in a longer period. But based on this analysis there are at least two observations that can be drawn in today’s context.

Among industrialized countries, Japan has the lowest per capita spending on healthcare and the highest life expectancy. What are the Japanese doing right?

U.S. and European insurance regulators need to work on communications, according to industry experts.

The experts talked about communications barriers here at the summer meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Kansas City, Mo., during a panel discussion sponsored by the American Insurance Association, Washington.

Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. This report—an update to three earlier editions—includes data from seven countries and incorporates patients' and physicians' survey results on care experiences and ratings on dimensions of care. Compared with six other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives. Newly enacted health reform legislation in the U.S. will start to address these problems by extending coverage to those without and helping to close gaps in coverage—leading to improved disease management, care coordination, and better outcomes over time.

The distribution channels for the insurance market in Asian countries are diversifying, according to research released by Boston-based research and consulting firm Celent.

The report notes that life insurance companies in many Asian markets have previously depended on individual agents as their main sales channel. However, the market share of this channel is decreasing, while that of banks is growing every year.

The fourth in a series about global health-care issues, looking at how aging populations will impact health-care systems and social policies across the world. This article focuses on Hong Kong.

This report addresses three themes likely to dominate in 2010 as companies seek to deliver better returns on equity and earnings per share:

1. Regulatory reform and capital increases
2. Continued operational efficiency programmes
3. Emergence of new operating models, particularly around distribution

Ernst & Young identifies seven of the most significant risks and opportunities for 2010:

• Rebuilding capital and re-evaluating core businesses
• Developing a holistic approach to risk management
• Preparing for Solvency II implementation
• Addressing significant stakeholder concerns
• Handling increasing complexity in a changing regulatory environment
• Reprioritizing investment in expansion
• Capitalizing on opportunities for retirement products and health insurance

Overview of the last Geneva Association Health and Ageing Conference held in Warsaw in November 2009.

Annette Hofmann and Stephan Rosenbrock discuss the impacts of the new German’s Social Health Insurance Competition Strengthening Act on private health insurers in The Geneva Association's Health and Ageing newsletter.

As the recession takes its toll, what are organizations in Europe doing to manage cost while supporting their employees in looking after their own most important asset – their health? (Mercer)

There are major barriers carriers will face as they try to unlock the potential of more than 1.2 billion people living and working in China, a global powerhouse. And while these barriers will all but stop even the most tenacious players, there are three that will stop them dead in their tracks.

On 25 February, 2010, A.M. Best's international panel discussed growth opportunities, the expansion of Takaful and re-Takaful insurance, the use of microinsurance and insurance pools and the changing distribution systems. The webinar was based on a new report authored by Yvette Essen, head of market analysis for A.M. Best's global financial services division.

Compared to Americans, German citizens enjoy broader health care benefits at lower cost. Could such a system work in the US?

This 2009 Milliman survey examines European life insurance companies’ modeling of dynamic policyholder behaviour, which is the influence that external factors can have over policyholders’ propensity to exercise the options available in a life insurance policy.

The Insurance & Finance Programme of The Geneva Association examines the interface of financial research with insurance and risk management. The programme makes original contributions to the progress of insurance through different initiatives in the field of insurance finance, such as detecting new and promising developments or discussing the relevance of financial concepts to the industry, and promotes the study of the function and nature of finance in insurance.

In this special contribution, Patrick M. Liedtke, Secretary General and Managing Director of The Geneva Association, looks at the common misperceptions about insurance’s involvement in the credit crisis and highlights the need for insurance involvement in the restructuring of the world’s financial architecture.

This report examines how the financial crisis is set to reshape the industry as a whole, along with some of the key developments that are likely to affect particular segments and geographical markets.

Without attracting much attention, the European cross-border life insurance market has grown significantly over the past 15 years. Despite a relatively short history and low profile, this segment of the insurance industry is one of the largest in Europe, with potential for future growth.

Swiss Re’s new Focus Report: “The Globalisation of Collective Redress: Consequences for the Insurance Industry” provides an update on the global spread of collective actions and assesses both the risks and the opportunities that this development carries for insurers.

Summarizes terror insurance market developments in 34 countries across six continents. According to the report, developments on a country-by-country basis are being shaped largely by events, including new or evolving threats and local developments in the insurance and reinsurance markets. The update also addresses the impact of terror insurance on the aviation market and looks at recent developments in terror modeling.

Despite the turmoil in the global economy, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of insurers plan to grow outside of their home market in the next 12 months, according to findings of a global survey released today by Accenture.

Weekly update on seasonal influenza. For H1N1 related news, visit http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/.

Aon Announces Top 10 Global Risks

Despite the fact Solvency II in its current form will apply only to the European Union, North American insurers are encouraged to pay attention to the factors underlying its development. If, as anticipated, Solvency II leads to markedly lower capital charges for EU-based companies, then the Europeans will have a significant competitive advantage over North American companies.

Hannover Life Re believes that we should all be looking to offer cover to as many individuals as we can and that as far as possible insurance should strive to be inclusive. The company also feels it is right to challenge ourselves to continue to change cultural attitudes and encourage inclusive behaviour.

From the March 2009 issue of Gen Re's Risk Insights.

Financial services and insurance companies face enormous challenges in 2009 as they manage through the economic downturn and respond to market shifts and consumer expectations.

According to the latest Swiss Re sigma study, world insurance premium income grew 3.3% in real terms in 2007, reaching USD 4 061bn. This growth was primarily driven by the life business in industrialised and emerging markets and to a lesser extent by the non-life business in the emerging markets.

UPDATE: The statistical appendix updates premium volumes from the world insurance sigma published earlier this year.

Driving through India's financial capital Mumbai, some of the brightest billboards that catch your eye promote insurance companies. Most of them represent big brands like New York Life, MetLife, Aviva and AIG. For the last five years, they have been working hard to make their presence felt in a under-insured market.

Takaful (Islamic insurance) is one of the fastest growing types of insurance worldwide and has potentially significant appeal beyond just Muslim populations. Writing in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Insurance Digest, the authors describe takaful’s attributes and attractions, and offer suggestions on how insurers can market it.

June 2008 – Around 70 representatives of primary insurance companies from all over Europe, and some from further afield, came together on 23 – 24 June 2008 at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue for a packed agenda of presentations, discussions and networking. Leading expert key note speakers addressed delegates, together with senior management from Swiss Re. All were focused on a single theme – growth opportunities, together with their accompanying risks, for life and health insurance markets in Europe.

For years, Japan has earned respect as a giant in global insurance markets. It's the second largest market in the world, after the U.S. According to Swiss Re, total premium income in 2006 reached $363 billion, representing approximately one-sixth of total world life insurance premium income. Japanese life insurers are among the largest in the world, including the largest of all, Japan Post Insurance.