Insurance Boosts Terrorism Policy
The escalating political tension gearing up the 2009 presidential general election opens insurance for political risks particularly terrorism and sabotage which is targeted to grow 10 percent into IDR55 billion. Thus far, if compared to the other business lines such as vehicles, and property, terrorism and sabotage insurance has not provided significant contribution to the industry performances due to the high premium price and lack of public awareness on insurance. "People might say the current general election is safe but risk remains open, our community are always belated. For those aware of risk, they will protect their assets," said the chairperson of the Indonesia General Insurance (AAUI), Kornelius Simanjuntak over the sidelines of risk potential gearing up the 2009 presidential election in Jakarta yesterday. One factors preventing public from taking terrorism and sabotage protection is due to the 0 percent loss ratio in the past three years due to the better security condition in the country. The risk could pose threat anytime and thus loss insurance business remains potential particularly with the overseas investor inflow.
Bisnis Indonesia, 19 June 2009

Reinsurers Expect Little Impact from Flu Pandemic
The world's largest reinsurers have said that they expect no major losses from an influenza outbreak following the 11 June announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) of the first flu pandemic in this century, reports Reuters. "The WHO moving to phase 6 doesn't fundamentally change our view that we do not expect tangibly higher loss claims due to the swine flu," a spokesman for Hannover Re, the world's fourth-largest reinsurer, said. WHO raised its pandemic flu alert to phase 6 on a six-point scale, indicating the first influenza pandemic since 1968 was under way, and said it was shifting from an emergency to a longer-term response. The world's biggest reinsurer, Munich Re, says that it abides by a statement it made last month, in which it said it did not expect major losses from swine flu. That statement said that even if the WHO raised its flu alert to the highest level, it did not necessarily mean that the world was facing a serious pandemic, because the agency's pandemic alert phase did not reflect the severity of a pandemic. World No. 2 reinsurer Swiss Re says that it is closely tracking the health threat from the H1N1 virus but that recent pandemics have been much more modest than the pandemic of 1918, which killed at least 40 million in the time before antibiotic medicines. "Swiss Re is well prepared to deal with the insurance, financial and business continuity risks that could arise from a pandemic, and to continue writing new business afterwards," it said. Swiss Re estimated its mortality claims from a major lethal pandemic loss - which might occur once in 200 years - at SwFr3.5 billion (US$3.3 billion), for example, noting that experts expect the current flu outbreak will be milder.
E-weekly Volume IX Issue 24, 15 June 2009

Underwriting Results Sharply Swelling Up
The underwriting result of the loss insurance industry recorded fantastic growth at 41.63 percent into IDR4.16 trillion by end of 2008 due to the minimum claim and the positive impact of the issuance of PMK No. 74/2007. The finance analysis report of loss insurance made by the Indonesian General Insurance Association (AAUI) yesterday said the underwriting surplus this year mounted sharply following the 1.77 percent in 2006 and 7.31 percent in 2007. "The high direct premium growth, gross premium and net premium along with the negative growth of gross and net claims have propped up the underwriting growth up to 40 percent," said information and analysis head of AAUI, Dadang Sukresna. This year the loss insurance still has chance to growth 15-20 percent or rose about IDR4 trillion as from 2008. "The economy condition impact sometimes is not linear to insurance business. Last year the growth was good. What about if the investment growth was not falling, the general insurance could have been leading," he said.
Bisnis Indonesia, 10 June 2009