The Insurance Claims Complaints Panel (Complaints Panel) today (30 March 2015, Monday) announces the claims complaints statistics and case review for the year 2014.

In 2014, the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau (Bureau) received 603 complaint cases, representing a nearly 13% increase over the previous year. Of the 344 closed cases, 78 cases were concluded to the satisfaction of the complainants. The aggregate settlement amount of these cases totalled HK$3.86 million. The two main categories of complaints were 'Application of Policy Terms' and 'Excluded Items'.

Mr Michael F S Tsui, Chairman of the Complaints Panel, said, "The Complaints Panel ruled in favour of the complainants in 10 cases and the highest award in a single case was HK$313,000."

The Bureau was incorporated in February 1990 to implement self-regulation in the handling of insurance claims complaints arising from personal insurance contracts. The Complaints Panel was established by the Bureau with the objective of providing independent and impartial adjudication of claims complaints between insurers and policyholders or their beneficiaries. Currently, the Complaints Panel's jurisdiction limit is HK$800,000 and its decisions are binding on all the Bureau Members. However, if the complainants find the decision of the Complaints Panel unacceptable, they are free to seek legal redress and their legal rights are not affected by the decision of the Complaints Panel.

The Complaints Panel is made up of five members. The majority of members come from the non-insurance industry ensuring the independence and credibility of this alternate dispute resolution mechanism. Members of the Complaints Panel acted on a voluntary basis and consisted of:

Details of Claims Complaints Statistics and Case Review for the year 2014 are enclosed.

UPMC Health Plan has retained its financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) from A.M. Best the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.

The A- (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook applies to UPMC Health Plan (HMO and commercial plans) and its affiliates UPMC Health Network (PPO products) UPMC for You (Medicaid) and Community Care Behavioral Health Organization.

The ratings are a reflection of what A.M. Best described as UPMC Health Plan's "strategic role" as the managed care affiliate of UPMC a fully integrated health care delivery system that "is formed around one of the nation's premier academic medical centers."

"UPMC Health Plan(s) continues to demonstrate solid consolidated underwriting and net income supplemented by expansion of its geographic footprint outside of its core market of western Pennsylvania" A.M. Best said in announcing the ratings. The rating service also cited UPMC Health Plan's "strong membership and premium growth" across its diversified business lines.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ("Fairfax") (TSX:FFH)(TSX:FFH.U) announced that it has reached an agreement with Brit PLC ("Brit" or the "company") to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Brit (the "Brit Shares"). Brit is a market-leading global Lloyd's of London specialty insurer and reinsurer.

The full announcement (the "Announcement") is available for viewing on Fairfax's website at www.fairfax.ca/britoffer

Under the terms of Fairfax's offer for the Brit Shares (the "Offer"), Brit shareholders will be entitled to receive 305 pence in cash per Brit Share (the "Brit Offer Price"), inclusive of any final dividend for the year ended December 31, 2014. Fairfax has received hard irrevocable undertakings to accept the Offer at the Brit Offer Price from entities managed by Apollo and CVC in respect of, in the aggregate, a total of approximately 294 million Brit Shares representing approximately 73% of Brit's issued share capital. These entities have undertaken to accept the Offer following the posting of the Offer document. The Brit Offer Price represents a premium of 11.2% to the closing price of 274.2 pence per Brit Share on February 16, 2015, being the last full business day prior to this announcement. The aggregate purchase price payable by Fairfax for the Offer is approximately US$1.88 billion.

On February 12, 2015, Fairfax announced 2014 earnings of approximately US$1.6 billion. Excluding the final dividend expected to be declared by the board of directors of Brit for the year ended December 31, 2014 in an amount of 25 pence per Brit Share, Fairfax's purchase price of 280 pence per Brit Share is less than ten times the company's earnings based on the company's annualized net earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2014. The acquisition is accretive to Fairfax on several metrics including gross revenue per share and investments per share. Fairfax has built a strong relationship with the Brit team and an understanding of their business and operations since the acquisition of Brit's runoff business in June, 2012.

"We welcome Mark Cloutier and his market leading specialty insurance and reinsurance team at Brit to our expanding global specialty platform," said Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax. "Brit has an outstanding track record over the last ten years and will continue to operate on a decentralized basis once owned by Fairfax. With the acquisition of Brit, Fairfax will have a significant top five position at Lloyds of London. We look forward to working with Mark and the entire Brit team to further develop their business over the longer-term."

Brit's position as a market-leading global specialty insurer and reinsurer, its major presence in Lloyd's and its disciplined approach to underwriting make it a natural candidate to join Fairfax's expanding worldwide specialty operations. Brit's growing US and international reach are highly complementary to Fairfax's existing worldwide operations and the acquisition further diversifies Fairfax's group risk portfolio.

In addition, Brit will be able to leverage Fairfax's expertise in the US and international insurance and reinsurance markets, thus enhancing Brit's global product offering and providing it with expanded underwriting opportunities and support. The Offer is subject to customary closing conditions, including customary competition and merger conditions, and the approval of the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK, Lloyd's of London and the Financial Services Commission of Gibraltar. It is intended that the transaction be effected by way of takeover offer under section 974 of the UK Companies Act 2006 and the Code on Takeovers issued by the UK Takeover Panel. The Offer Document and the Form of Acceptance accompanying the Offer Document will be published (save with the consent of the Panel) within 28 days.

The Offer Document and accompanying Form of Acceptance will be made available on Fairfax's website at www.fairfax.ca/britoffer

Fairfax is a financial services holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.

Lloyd’s is pleased to announce that Mark Cloutier, CEO of Brit PLC, will be joining the Lloyd’s Franchise Board with effect from 1 April 2015.

Mark has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Brit Group since October 2011 and has more than 35 years’ experience working in the international insurance and reinsurance sector. He currently holds a number of non-executive positions and has held several CEO and senior executive positions, including CEO of the Alea Group, CEO of Overseas Partners Re and President of E.W Blanch Insurance Services Inc.

Chairman John Nelson said, “I am delighted that Mark Cloutier will be joining the Franchise Board. He is one of the outstanding business leaders in the Lloyd's market with broad experience of the insurance and reinsurance industry, both internationally and in Lloyd's itself”.

Mark’s appointment is subject to formal approval from the PRA.

As the expat health insurance market in Hong Kong has experienced recent growth, Pacific Prime examines the reasons contributing to this and what it means for insurers.

The market for expat health insurance in Hong Kong is growing at a considerable rate as opportunities for expatriates to work in Asia remain on the rise. Pacific Prime HK analysed data from a 2013 consensus which revealed that 0.6% of the estimated 50 million expatriates from around the world reside in Hong Kong, translating to 301,000 expats out of a population of 7.1 million people. This is an even more substantial figure when compared to the data from 2009 which estimated the expat population to be 252,000, revealing an increase of 4.6%. These figures place Hong Kong as 7th in the world for expatriate population percentage and with estimates for 2017 revealing a further population increase of 7%, it is likely that Hong Kong will maintain its position as a popular destination for worldwide expatriates.

Hong Kong also ranks as the 10th most expensive location to live as an expatriate in the Asia Pacific region, according to a Cost of Living survey performed by ECA International. Furthermore, as Hong Kong’s financial industry continues to grow and develop, the majority of Hong Kong’s expatriates are brought to the city as corporate transferees, resulting in a steady growth in Hong Kong’s overall wealth. The cost of healthcare in the city has naturally followed suit and Hong Kong now ranks as having the most expensive private healthcare system, second only to the United States. It is no surprise then, that insurance brokers are targeting the expat health insurance market and that the international private medical insurance sector is experiencing a great deal of attention in Hong Kong, as well as other popular expat destinations in Asia.

As many expatriates working here will travel frequently due to work, or return to their home countries on a regular basis, brokers appear to be focusing on transferable health insurance plans, whereby cover will not end upon moving to a different destination, as well as other benefits that would appeal to expats, such as emergency evacuation. As Hong Kong continues to attract global talent, the conditions are more than suitable for the growing expat health insurance market and Pacific Prime expects to see more plans tailored to expatriates continue to be made available in future.

Cigna’s new comprehensive travel insurance provides mature customers with peace of mind and sense of security when travelling away from home.

Cigna announced today its entry into the travel insurance market, with the new Cigna 50+ Travel Insurance designed specifically with the mature traveller in mind. Cigna already provides travel insurance through partner companies, but this is their first travel insurance product under the Cigna brand.

Drawing on knowledge from its global insurance network which includes one of the UK’s top five travel insurance companies, Cigna found that travellers over the age of 50 were considerably more likely to make a medical or cancellation claim than under 50s. Cigna’s travel insurance is designed to meet these needs with unlimited medical cover, no age restrictions and comprehensive cancellation cover.

“We are committed to understanding our customers’ needs and providing solutions that improve their health, well-being and sense of security. We spent a lot of time getting the mix of benefits and cover right for this new product and believe it will provide mature customers peace of mind and sense of security when traveling away from home,” says Cigna’s Travel Insurance Manager, Adam Rudland.

“Unexpected medical costs when travelling can escalate quickly adding up into the hundreds of thousands for accidents or illness,” says Adam. “It’s easy to forget that our public health system doesn’t cover us when travelling and ACC provides very limited cover. We risk facing astronomical costs for seemingly simple procedures while overseas. We’ve seen cases where medical bills can be several hundred thousand dollars when treatment is provided overseas.”

“While a bill of this size is a worst case scenario, medical bills can quickly add up,” adds Adam. “These bills can create major financial headaches at a time when travellers would prefer to be sharing holiday photos and reminiscing over their adventures.”

A large number of medical claims come about as a result of pre-existing conditions, yet many travel insurance products don’t cover these. Cigna 50+ Travel Insurance provides coverage for a much wider range of pre-existing medical conditions, combined with access to 24/7 New Zealand-based assistance while travelling.

“We’ve recognized that the possibility of a medical claim being declined because it related to a pre-existing condition is an issue for New Zealanders,” says Adam. “Our online application form makes it easy for customers, especially for those over 50, to insure themselves for a wider range of pre-existing medical conditions, providing the widest possible medical protection and less chance of being declined. And this is combined with a 35% online discount.”

But it’s not just unexpected medical bills that can add up when travelling. Before even getting to the airport, changes to travel plans can be costly, particularly for multiple people travelling or for lengthy journeys. Cigna 50+ Travel Insurance covers up to $100,000 per person in travel cancellation costs.

In summary, the benefits of the Cigna 50+ Travel Insurance product are:

• Unlimited medical cover;
• No age restrictions;
• Comprehensive cancellation cover.

For more information about policy and pricing details go to www.cigna.co.nz

According to preliminary sigma estimates, total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were USD 113 billion in 2014, down from USD 135 billion in 2013. Out of the total economic losses, insurers covered USD 34 billion in 2014, down 24% from USD 45 billion in 2013. This year disaster events have claimed around 11 000 lives.

Of the estimated total economic losses of USD 113 billion in 2014, natural catastrophes caused USD 106 billion, down from USD 126 billion in 2013. The outcome is well below the average annual USD 188 billion loss figure of the previous 10 years. The total loss of life of 11 000 from natural catastrophe and man-made disaster events this year is down from the more than 27 000 fatalities in 2013.

Insured losses for 2014 are estimated to be USD 34 billion, of which USD 29 billion were triggered by natural catastrophe events compared with USD 37 billion in 2013. Man-made disasters generated the additional USD 5 billion in insurance losses in 2014.

This year started with extreme winter conditions in the US and Japan and, as the year drew to a close, the Northeast US was once again gripped by very low temperatures and heavy snow. The storms in the US at the beginning of 2014 alone caused insured losses of USD 1.7 billion. This is above the average full-year winter storm loss number of USD 1.1 billion of the previous 10 years. In mid-May, a spate of strong storms with large hail stones hit many parts of the US over a five-day period, resulting in insured losses of USD 2.9 billion, the highest of the year.

The North Atlantic hurricane season was relatively mild again in 2014. No major hurricane made landfall in the US, the ninth year running that this has happened. However, Mexico was impacted by Hurricane Odile from the East Pacific in September. Strong winds and heavy rains resulted in insured losses of USD 1.6 billion, as Odile hit the Cabo San Lucas and other tourist resort areas in which there are a number of hotels and where commercial insurance penetration is relatively high. This made Hurriance Odile the second most costly catastrophe event in Mexico ever after Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

On the other side of the Pacific, the Philippines was once again hit by a typhoon at the beginning of December. Early loss estimates for Typhoon Hagupit indicate less damage than Typhoon Haiyan caused in 2013. Also, evacuation procedures based on lessons learned from the Haiyan experience have meant less loss of life than otherwise may have been.

In Europe, a series of small loss-inducing weather events hit different countries at the beginning of the year. One major event was wind and hail storm Ela in June, which caused significant damage to properties and vehicles in parts of France, Germany and Belgium, resulting in overall insured losses of USD 2.7 billion. Bulgaria was also hit by hail activity in June. Other severe weather events were heavy rains and flooding in the UK, Serbia, Croatia, Italy and France at different times during the year.

In Asia, monsoon rains in September brought extensive flooding and damage across India and Pakistan. These floods have claimed the largest number of lives of any flood event in 2014. The following month, India was hit by another extreme event, this time Cyclone Hudhud on the east coast.

Where there was excessive rain in some places, other areas of the world had little. For example, some areas in China had a very dry summer, leading to severe drought conditions that affected agricultural output. The loss estimates for these events are not yet known. The estimates in this release include all latest updates to source data made by 28 November 2014.

Ongoing events and revisions to estimates for previous ones may further change the 2014 loss outcomes. Estimates in USD terms for prior years are in 2014 prices.

HTH Worldwide, a global health services and technology company, has announced the launch of its new portal designed to open access to its robust, global health and safety databases to developers seeking to enhance their products. The Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available through this portal make it possible to efficiently deliver vital health and safety information to international travelers. HTH leveraged technology and services from Intel® MasheryTM API Management to build the portal.

HTH Worldwide develops and maintains tools and information proven to help world travelers navigate risks and access trusted medical care all around the world.

Through the new portal, companies serving international travelers can enhance their services on a global scale enabling their customers to:

• Prepare with personalized health and safety advice;
• Access an elite network of healthcare providers;
• Communicate effectively and navigate barriers to treatment.

HTH is the world’s leading provider of web-based and mobile healthcare tools and databases as evidenced by the success of its mPassport downloadable application, which has been recommended by experts in the travel industry including Travel + Leisure and The New York Times. HTH clients include many of the largest international healthcare companies.

“At HTH Worldwide, our mission is to help world travelers pursue their plans with confidence,” said Alex Wood, managing director for HTH Worldwide. “Making our innovative, proprietary health and safety tools available through an API portal is a great way to expand our ability to meet our goal. We are proud to have built this new portal through Intel Services.”

“Leading healthcare organizations are using APIs to transform existing business assets into innovative data products,” said Chuck Freedman, Director, Vertical Insights at Intel Services. “The HTH Worldwide program joins healthcare payers and providers leading the market by enabling developer innovation with well-managed APIs to scale vital information and services across mobile and device platforms.

For more information about the portal, visit our information page.  

Aon Benfield, has announced the launch of an innovative new insurance product that closes a significant gap in the Life and Health global protection market.

Developed by the firm’s ReSolutions team and Aon Private Clients, the product allows ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals residing outside of the UK to access previously unavailable high levels of life insurance cover by increasing the size and geographical scope of their life insurance limits. Through the expansion of life insurance limits, the product can be used effectively to mitigate the exposures on UHNW individuals’ UK interests – such as property. Insurance capacity for the product is being provided by the renowned Lloyd’s of London insurance market, supported by an Aon Benfield reinsurance transaction.

Demand for the product was originally identified by Aon Private Clients, which noted that life assurance options for internationally domiciled UHNW individuals were very limited. The new product offering is designed with international UHNW individuals in mind who have sizable assets and/or investments in the U.K.. It will be made available through professional intermediaries and advisers.

Andrew Matson, Managing Director within Aon Benfield ReSolutions, said, “Where UHNW international life cover had traditionally been very scarce, this new product provides a stable and long term solution to Aon clients. ReSolutions worked with Aon Private Clients to access capacity within both Lloyd’s and the reinsurance markets where large premiums and limits are commonplace. Through Aon Private Clients it was possible to identify a number of key sources of distribution, which enabled us to appraise the size of the target market and quantify insured needs.”

The UHNW life product is allowing Aon Private Clients to expand its High Net Worth (HNW) product offering and fulfill a greater range of requests from specialist advisors.

Charles Hamilton-Stubber, Chairman of Aon Private Clients, said, “We are increasingly receiving requests from specialist wealth managers and family offices requiring life Insurance for individuals in the High Net Worth life space. By working closely with our ReSolutions colleagues we can now add this product to our existing HNW suite to create a ‘concierge service’ to the ultra high net worth client, and provide an unrivalled range of solutions.”

Aon Hewitt, has launched the 2014 Trends in Asia Pacific Employee Engagement Report.

As the global economy continues to stabilize, GDP growth improved across most of the Asia Pacific region during the past year, with an overall growth rate of 4%. The outlook for Asia Pacific’s growth is to remain steady and higher than the global average, at 5.4% in 2014 and 5.5% in 2015. Overall, positive changes have impacted engagement levels in Asia Pacific, as reflected in the key findings below.

“In many cases, employers in Asia Pacific will be building on a strong foundation: our report shows that employees in the region have already attained levels of engagement that are on par with the global average. There is also plenty of room for improvement: 24% of Asia Pacific employees are only passively engaged. The challenge for employers is to improve and sustain levels, to support continued business growth”, said Gabriela Domicelj, Regional Engagement Practice Leader, Asia Pacific.

Asia Pacific employee engagement in 2013 was higher than before the financial crisis. Rising from 58% in 2012 to 61% in 2013, Asia Pacific’s average engagement score rose to 61% in 2013 from 58% in 2012, a bigger increase than was seen in the global engagement score, which rose to 61% in 2013 from 60% in 2012. In 2013, Asia Pacific shares the same engagement score of 61% as the global average. Of the 12 countries represented in this report, nine saw improvements in employee engagement levels in 2013, two saw scores decline, and one remained the same. Compared to the global average, Asia Pacific employees are more willing to advocate for their employers, but less willing to stay in the organization.

In 2013, Asia Pacific reported increases in all Say, Stay and Strive scores (see Appendix for Aon Hewitt’s Engagement Model). Most significantly, Say scores increased by six points to 69%, showing that more employees are saying good things about their employers. Despite an increase since 2012, the Stay score of 55% remained the lowest of the three, reflecting that just under half of employees in Asia Pacific are willing to stay with their organizations. Almost two-thirds of all employees in Asia Pacific are engaged; 24% are passively engaged and present a great opportunity for employers to improve their engagement levels.

The engagement distribution in Asia Pacific shares an identical pattern with global employee engagement distributions. 21% of employees are highly engaged, leaving a large potential for employers to improve engagement, as 64% of employees in Asia Pacific are either moderately or passively engaged. With the right management and work conditions, these employees could become highly engaged. The overall work experience in Asia Pacific is improving. Globally, overall work experience improved by 4%, while Asia Pacific showed an increase of 6%. The areas that have improved the most are employer brand and foundational elements (i.e., safety, resources).

However, perception of leadership and company practices has dropped. This may be because Asia Pacific employees are becoming more sophisticated and therefore more discerning about business and strategic imperatives. Career Opportunities and Pay remain the top two engagement drivers in Asia Pacific. Career Opportunities were the number one driver both globally and in Asia Pacific in 2013 (Career Opportunities ranked as the top engagement driver in nine out of 12 countries). Pay has a particularly higher ranking in Asia Pacific compared to the rest of the world, and is valued notably in China, South Korea, and Thailand.

Anand Shankar, Performance, Talent and Rewards Regional Practice leader, Asia Pacific, said, “Employees today have access to vast amounts of data that allow them to compare potential and current employers on multiple levels, and they are using it to ensure they get the best jobs and conditions possible. Employees in Asia Pacific are becoming increasingly clear and vocal about what they want. Our research shows that employees in Asia Pacific want career opportunities even more than they want pay increases.”

Gabriela Domicelj added: “Engagement drivers differ substantially by country. Asia Pacific shows a great deal of cultural, economic, and political diversity. Talent management practices also vary greatly in maturity across countries and industries in this region. Operating in this complex environment presents a challenge for leaders trying to drive high levels of employee engagement.

Organizations that invest in understanding and managing the key drivers of employee engagement across their multiple constituencies will be able to drive performance in more efficient and effective ways”. The report first analyzes employee engagement trends for the Asia Pacific region, then goes into a detailed breakdown of each of the 12 countries surveyed. These data-backed insights are important for helping employers understand how current trends in demographics and culture are reshaping what employees want in exchange for their efforts. With these trends in mind, companies need to take action to optimize employees’ motivation and productivity.

Overall, in 2013, Asia Pacific witnessed changes in employee engagement. In particular, the region saw improvements in the number of “highly engaged” employees, which increased by 5% to 21%, and in the engagement levels of Millennials, which rose by 5% in 2013 compared with 2012. Looking ahead, employers should focus on ways to sustain growth and avoid volatility in employee engagement levels, especially in fast-growing economies such as China, Indonesia, Thailand and India. Investing wisely in engagement-improvement initiatives is the key for business and HR leaders. The following top five engagement drivers in Asia Pacific highlight the opportunities we see for organizations to improve their employee engagement levels.

Career Opportunities – consistently shows up as the most important employee engagement driver across all Asia Pacific countries. The importance of Career Opportunities within an organization is evident across generations, job levels and job function. Thus, having a flexible and clearly defined career path is one of the most critical improvements for employers to focus on.

Career Opportunities also includes having options for short-term assignments and geographic transfers. Strengths in this area will certainly be a differentiating factor for employers in Asia Pacific.

Pay – After rising in the rankings for two years, Pay remains the second most important engagement driver in Asia Pacific. The findings around pay indicate that economic pressures, threats of inflation, and historical pay constraints may have caused pay to be more highly sought after in specific Asia Pacific countries. Employers should focus on “pay-for performance” strategies, drive more variation in reward levels that are aligned with engagement and performance output, and motivate their employees to give their best performance.

Brand Alignment – Brand Alignment has risen from number four to number three in the list of top five impact drivers. It is important that organizations are consistent in keeping the promises they make to their employees and in providing the promised experience for employees once on-board. Those organizations that focus on articulating a unique and compelling employee value proposition for prospective and current employees and who then deliver on that proposition will be rewarded with higher employee engagement.

Recognition – Recognition schemes are certainly less costly for an employer than direct pay and can also have a significant impact on employee engagement. Despite many economic and business pressures, engagement is on the rise – more employees have said good things about their company are committed to staying with them and have put in extra efforts at work. These employees deserve recognition from their employers, which will in turn result in sustained or even higher engagement.

Managing Performance – The only driver that is new on the list compared to the previous year. Employees in Asia Pacific want to work for organizations that focus on clear performance outcomes. Employers need a holistic approach to ‘employee performance’ as part of their culture, and one that is supported by enabling performance management processes, effective people management, ensuring learning and development supports the capability required to perform, and reinforcing performance through rewards and recognition.

Gabriela Domicelj concluded, “Today’s talent challenges in Asia Pacific are significant. Organizations have to invest wisely in their employees to stay ahead of the race. Getting employee engagement right is a major step towards driving positive business results through increased employee productivity. Now is the time to focus on improving employee engagement in workplaces across Asia Pacific”.