Lonpac Insurance Bhd

SOMPO-NIPPONKOA MERGED ENTITY TO FOCUS ON JAPAN BUSINESS

The enlarged entity which will be formed by the merger next year of Sompo Japan Insurance and Nipponkoa Insurance will focus on its business in Japan, seeking to provide high-quality services and security to customers, said the two insurers in a joint statement. The two insurance companies and their subsidiaries will be structured under the newly established NKSJ Holdings which has capital stock of 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion), both sides reveal.

Nipponkoa President and Chief Executive Director Makoto Hyodo will be chairman and co-chief executive director of the new joint holding company. Sompo Japan President and Chief Executive Director Masatoshi Sato will be president and co-chief executive director of NKSJ.

Under the merger terms, one common stock share of the new holding company will be allotted for each Sompo Japan common stock share. The holding company will issue 0.9 share of common stock for each Nipponkoa common stock share.

The two insurers expect to generate consolidated profits of 160 billion yen in 2014. About 56% of the targeted profits will be earned from local non-life business, followed by domestic life with 31% of the business share, another 10% from overseas business and 3% from financial service and other business. The companies expect synergies of 50 billion yen in 2014, in which about 34 billion yen is to be generated from integrating information technology systems, another 3 billion yen from the joint use of facilities and 13 billion yen from sharing expertise.

The two insurers also plan to merge their life subsidiaries Sompo Japan Himawari Life Insurance and Nipponkoa Life Insurance within two years after the business integration. They will increase their life units' embedded value by 50 billion yen a year in 2014. For overseas business, the two insurers will pursue expansion through mergers and acquisitions in markets with promising growth prospects.

Source: Asia Insurance Review eWeekly Japan - Vol VII Issue 44

FLOOD COVER FOR COMPREHENSIVE PRIVATE CAR INSURANCE

Do you know that your comprehensive private car insurance does not automatically cover perils such as flood, storm, landslide, landslip and other convulsion of nature? One most common occurrence of such perils is flood. Whenever there is a downpour at a flood prone area, car owners are always concern that their vehicles will be subjected to massive damage if the vehicles get flooded.

Should you need such cover, you may extend your insurance policy to cover the extra benefit by payment of an additional premium. The endorsement wording for the perils is as follows:

There are two sections in your Policy. Section A refers to "Loss or Damage to Your Vehicle". The premium payable for the extra benefit is 0.5% of the sum insured of your vehicle for each year or part of a year. For example, if you are going to insure your car for a sum insured of RM50,000 and would like to extend to cover the special perils, the additional premium payable for this extra benefit is RM250 for one year. If you buy this cover midway when your policy is in force, you will still need to pay RM250 as prorate will not be applicable for the premium.

With this additional benefit, you will have better peace of mind every time it starts to rain.

The recent landslide at Taman Hillview has stirred concern amongst those who have purchased property that can be subjected to such peril. In this write up, we would like to highlight the insurance cover that is available for the subsidence and landslip peril and the extent of its coverage.

All residential property owners normally will have a fire insurance to protect the property in the case of a fire. This is especially so when the property is charged to the financial institution where the bank will want to ensure that its financial interest in the property is protected in the case of a fire. The basic fire insurance covers the property should it be destroyed by the fire or lightning whereas the houseowner insurance, a more comprehensive fire insurance is packaged to cover other perils such as explosion, impact damage and bursting and overflowing of domestic water tanks and apparatus and others.

Notwithstanding which fire policy the property owner purchased, he can extend it to cover the subsidence and landslide peril by payment of an additional premium. The rate for the standard cover for this peril is at 0.081% of the sum insured. The following is the endorsement wordings of the peril from the Fire Tariff which is governed by the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM):

In consideration of an additional premium, the Company hereby agree and declare that the insurance under this Policy shall extend to cover loss or damage to the property insured caused by subsidence and / or heave of the site on which the buildings stand or land belonging thereto, or landslip excluding:-

Provided that the total liability of the Company shall not exceed the sum insured by each item on the property less the amount excluded under (d) above.

Provided always that all the conditions of the Policy (except in so far as they may be hereby expressly varied) shall apply as if they had been incorporated herein and for the purpose hereof any loss or damage as aforesaid shall be deemed to be loss or damaged by fire.

One may also delete exclusion (a) under the standard cover by nominating a separate sum insured on the properties insured. A loading of 25% on the subsidence and landslip rate is calculated on the sum insured for the properties nominated.

A bungalow unit need a rebuilding cost of RM1,000,000.00 for the main building and a rebuilding cost of RM250,000.00 for the outbuildings including the swimming pool, terraces, drive, footpaths, walls, gates and fences.

To purchase the standard cover of the subsidence and landslip peril, take the total sum insured and multiply it with the standard cover rate. The additional premium payable will be RM 1,012.50 (RM1,250,000.00 x 0.081%). For the deletion of exclusion (a) under the standard cover, the premium payable for the peril will be RM 1,063.13 [(RM1,000,000.00 x 0.081%) + (RM250,000.00 x 0.10125%)].

PIAM: TERRORISM EXCLUSION CLAUSE APPLICABLE FOR
ALL GENERAL INSURANCE POLICIES

Kuala Lumpur, January 10 - Many of the world's leading reinsurance companies have given notice that they plan to quit providing coverage to direct insurance companies for losses from future terrorist attacks with effect from January 1, 2002.

This measure by the reinsurance to exclude terrorism cover from their reinsurance treaties with direct insurers means that the direct insurance companies will also have to exclude terrorism cover from the various insurance policies issued by them.

That being the case, the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) announced that, with the effect from January 1 2002, general insurers will be applying a terrorism exclusion clause to all insurance policies.

This development is a direct result of the terrorist attack on September 11, an event that has severely impacted the capital base of the worldwide insurance industry in total.

Source : PIAM