Reinsurers Stand Firm in Asia in April Renewals
While property catastrophe reinsurance rates decreased globally during the 1 April 2008 renewal period, Asian cedents were less successful at extracting reduced rates from reinsurers than their more aggressive counterparts in the US which managed to win significant reductions, according to a report by Guy Carpenter & Company. In its review of annual reinsurance market conditions at the 1 April renewal period, Guy Carpenter notes that while cedents pushed hard for rate reductions in Asia, reinsurers stood firm, with rates in general already close to technical levels. "Most of the rate decreases witnessed in Asia were therefore in the single digits," says the report. It cites, for instance, that rates across each line in Japan generally decreased from 5%-10%. In Korea, reductions were as high as 20%.
eWeekly Asia - Vol. VIII No. 17, 28 April 2008

Government's Stake in Tugu Pratama to be Sold by June
Indonesia's State Asset Management Corporation, Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA), has said it would sell its entire 17.5% stake in Tugu Pratama Indonesia by the end of June, according to a report in the Antara news agency. Tugu Pramata is ranked among the country's top three general insurers. PPA has been planning to divest its stake in several insurance companies, including Tugu Pratama, for over a year now. Tugu Pratama was established in 1981 to provide general company, Pertamina. The insurer has also started Islamic insurance business. Pertamina holds a 40% stake in the company, while Pertamina's pension fund owns 20%.
eWeekly Asia - Vol. VIII No. 17, 28 April 2008

The Indonesian Government Urged to Provide Incentives to Promote Safer Homes
The Indonesian Government should consider providing economic incentives to homeowners to build safer houses, so as to reduce expenditure on reconstruction after earthquakes, according to a disaster risk management expert. According to Mr Kenji Okazaki of Tokyo's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies as quoted in the Jakarta Post: "The government could provide incentives through taxation, social security or subsidies. For example, people who maintain or retrofit their houses may pay less property tax, while those who don't must pay more." Mr Okazaki, who was speaking at an international conference on earthquake engineering and disaster mitigation in Jakarta, noted that in many countries, those who built unsafe houses would receive more financial assistance following a disaster, while those who had made efforts to build safe houses would not receive any financial aid. Such a situation discouraged people from building safer houses, he said.
eWeekly Asia - Vol. VIII No. 16, 21 April 2008