Thursday, 9 April 2015

A.M.Best Special Report on Insurance Capitalizing ASEAN Open Market

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (Bernama) -- The Best's Special Report, titled "Capitalizing on the Benefit and Opportunity in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Open Market," said that the region's insurance industry has reached a common ground on the benefits of operating beneath such a model.

It also characterizes the shared benefits of building a stronger regional bloc to attract new business along with improved resilience to potential external shocks, said A.M. Best in a statement issued today in Singapore.

The report noted that the free flow of services, including those from the financial sector, would allow insurers to build commercial presence and sell products on a more regional basis with professionals able to move throughout the countries within ASEAN.

These countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The combined gross domestic product of this ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) stood at USD 2.4 trillion (RM8.7 trillion) in 2013 and is projected to nearly double by 2020.

Under the AEC blueprint, ASEAN member countries have identified insurance sub-sectors for liberalization by 2015. So far, only Indonesia and the Philippines have committed to opening their markets for life, non-life, reinsurance, and intermediation and auxiliary services.

"As the markets develop and mature, the level of sophistication in the insurance framework is expected to increase. Achieving an open market requires a leap forward towards building trust and cooperation among member nations, along with recognition of existing differences," explained Moungmo Lee, General Director at analytics in the same statement.

On the whole, A.M. Best believes that the growth in the insurance industry will benefit the AEC in the long run.

To access a copy of this special report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=235496.

-- BERNAMA 
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/newsindex.php?id=1124866

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