Article submitted by EBM, Australia.
Insurance market growing steadily across SE Asia
The Hong Kong insurance market is booming with more insurance companies per head of population than anywhere else in the world. Construction projects and increasing numbers of Chinese buying Hong Kong life insurance are contributing to the steady growth of the market, which is tipped to increase by 20 per cent annually.
The state of Hong Kong insurance was just one of the fascinating insights into the Asian market presented at the Asia Australia Alliance Conference 2015 in May.
The annual conference brings together a network of insurance broking firms from across Australia, New Zealand and Asia to extend professional links and provide a forum to contribute to the development of the industry.This year, EBM had the pleasure of hosting the international event, which was held over three days in Perth. Brokers from Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau and China, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia spoke in detail about their local insurance markets and the various factors – government, natural disasters and economic – influencing them.
Hong Kong broker Patrick Chan, from Nova, told the delegates that while insurance was booming, very few young people were working in the insurance industry in Hong Kong.
Thai broker Pichit Mekkittikul, of Independent Consulting Co (ICC), described how a change to Martial Law, natural disasters and poor economy was impacting on Thailand’s insurance market.
Widespread flooding had wiped out any form of flood coverage forcing the Thai government to create an insurance fund to protect companies and individuals from future natural disasters. Despite challenging conditions in some South East Asian countries, the insurance industry continued to growth steadily in established and emerging markets across the region.
In Indonesia the number of insurance companies is on the rise while large infrastructure projects are expected to stimulate market growth in the Philippines in the coming years. The markets in Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia were also on the agenda, providing valuable insights into local business operations.
EBM Managing Director (Operations), Ward Dedman, said the conference had been a great success.
“The AAA Conference allows us to share what’s happening in different corners of the Asia Pacific,” Ward said.
“We have strong relationships with all of the brokers who attend the conference and that means EBM is strongly positioned to handle our client’s business anywhere in Asia – and even further abroad, through our additional connections other international underwriters.”