AXA Life Insurance buys Charter Ping An Insurance Corporation

AXA Philippines is acquiring Charter Ping An for Php2.3 billion, marking the consolidation of the Ty family’s life and non-life insurance businesses under one operation. The transaction, which will allow AXA Philippines a joint venture between GT Capital Holdings Inc.,  leading global insurance group  AXA and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to own 100 percent of Charter Ping An, is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals.

“By consolidating its life and non-life insurance businesses, GT Capital further strengthens its presence in the country’s underpenetrated yet fast growing insurance industry. We will clearly benefit from the global insurance expertise of AXA, the local market knowledge and network of Charter Ping An, and the cross- selling opportunities among our component companies,” said GT Capital chairman Francisco C. Sebastian.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, GT Capital said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“Until then, all operations of Charter Ping An and AXA Philippines will be business as usual and shall remain separate, as they currently are,” GT Capital said.

The move will allow AXA Philippines, the second life insurance company in the country, to expand into property and casualty insurance.

Charter Ping An is currently the fourth largest non-life insurance company in terms of net premiums written and premiums earned.

AXA Philippines has been operating in the country since 1999, focused on the life insurance business and providing solutions for savings and investments, health, education, income protection, and retirement. It pioneered bancassurance operations in the Philippines, which is the distribution of insurance products through banks.

“We are very excited about this development, as now we can offer our customers a complete suite of protection products. From protecting themselves, their loved ones, their financial hopes and dreams, and now even their hard-earned assets and properties, we at AXA can be more present in their lives, “said AXA Philippines president and CEO Rien Hermans.

“With the entry into non-life insurance, we see AXA Philippines building on the top five position of Charter Ping An and definitely become a major player and be a top three company in a few years,” Hermans added.

AXA is ranked as the number one global insurance brand for seven consecutive years, from 2009-2015. According to the 2015 Fortune Global 500 list, AXA is the 20th largest corporation and 29th in the 2015 Forbes Global 2000 rankings.

For his part, AXA Asia regional CEO Jean-Louis Laurent Josi said the AXA group’s  “close partnership with GT Capital and Metrobank has enabled us to build a strong presence in this high-growth market and this milestone will create new opportunities for further growth, as well as to help enhance the local insurance sector with a wider range of offerings.”

At present, AXA Philippines has more than 630,000 insured. AXA Philippines has more than 2,100 financial advisers in 32 branches and 500 financial executives in over 750 Metrobank and PSBank branches nationwide.

GT Capital is a listed major Philippine conglomerate with interests in banking, property development, power generation, automotive assembly, importation, wholesaling, dealership, and financing, and life and non-life insurance. It is the primary vehicle for the holding and management of the diversified business interests of the Ty family in the Philippines.

EastWest gets okay for insurance brokerage

Last July, EastWest gets SEC okay for insurance brokerage, and has secured another requisite approval to set up its planned wholly owned non-life insurance brokerage subsidiary. East West Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of East West Banking Corporation, will primarily engage in the business of non-life insurance brokerage.

EastWest Bank said this subsidiary will be separate from its planned joint venture life insurance firm. Also, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, has approved the initial equity investment of East West Banking Corporation (PSE:EW) in the proposed joint venture with Ageas Insurance International.

Last May, the listed lender announced that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Belgium-based insurer Ageas Insurance International N.V. (Ageas) to up a new life insurance company in the Philippines which is seen starting operations by the end of the year.

The aim is to build the premier Bancassurance business in the Philippines offering tailor-made insurance solutions to the customers of EW Bank supported by high quality service and state-of-art technology.

The insurance business will benefit from EW Bank’s fast growing customer base. With more than 400 branch stores, the bank has the 7th largest distribution network amongst banks in the Philippines, the bank said in a statement.

Ageas will contribute its proven Bancassurance skills and best practices from its successful businesses in Asia and Europe.
“We have always viewed Bancassurance as an integral part of our business model. We see it as a necessary ingredient to have complete product offerings for the financial services needs of our target market segments. Specifically, the consumer and middle market corporate segments. We are pleased to partner with Ageas, one of the major insurance providers in the world,” said Tony C. Moncupa Jr., President and CEO of EW Bank, during the signing of the agreement earlier.

“The potential is huge given that the current Life insurance penetration rate of around 1.5% is one of the lowest in Asia. We are very pleased to be a partner to EW Bank which has a strong management and clear ambition to grow. We are convinced that together we can deliver another successful partnership in Asia,” Gary Crist, CEO of Ageas Asia was quoted as saying.

The new insurance company to be named EastWest Ageas Life, subject to the requisite regulatory approvals, will enable EastWest Bank to offer life insurance products to its customers and increase its revenue base and market share, the listed lender said in an earlier disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The initial paid-in capital of the joint venture will be Php2 billion and EastWest will hold 50% minus one share, while Ageas will hold 50% plus one share. EastWest Bank said it will get approximately 50% income share from the life insurance company, it said.

The partnership will be for a 20-year exclusive distribution agreement, EastWest Bank said.

EastWest Bank posted a net income of Php2.073 billion in 2014, which is almost flat compared to the Php2.056 billion it posted in 2013 as lower trading gains dragged on its profit.

Life Insurance

Insurance is basically a mechanism to reduce risk by pooling it. It stems from a basic theorem in statistics - which is also apparent via common sense - that diversification reduces risk.

How it works

The life expectancy in India is reasonably high (over 65 years of age). Very few people die in their late thirties or early forties - mostly due to accidents. Their numbers may be some 5 to 10 in a thousand - let us assume that it is 1% for the twenty year between 30 and 49. Unfortunately, the families suffer a huge financial burden in these rare cases. Life insurance basically works when a large number of people agree to pool a small amount of money every year with the understanding that in case someone dies their families will receive 2000 times the money they put in.
The numbers I have put in above are fairly representative. Premium per lakh of insurance comes to around Rs 80-100 per year. This of course assumes that the insurance is pure insurance (also called term life) and is purchased online so as to save on agent commission.

How much insurance does one need

There are various mechanisms to calculate the requirement of life insurance. Please keep in mind that insurance is NOT a full replacement of the income that a person would have earned. Instead it should be considered as a replacement for the cash that would flow from the person being insured to others.
Typically one should first cover large debts like house loan and next look at large responsibilities. In the Indian context, these would include child education and marriage. Next, it must have enough funds for the remaining life of the dependents. A good rule of thumb for the last item is to have 25 times the annual household expenses.
In most Indian contexts, the monthly expenses and savings for children would come to somewhere around 50% of the monthly take home. Home loans should not be more than 3-5 times the annual take home. So total insurance would come to around 16 times the annual take home which results in a premium that is 1% of the monthly pay. In the absence of a home loan or in case where the home loan is already insured (as is often the case), the premium would come to 0.6% of the monthly take home.

Summary

The following rules of thumb can be used as starting points

1. Always purchase term life insurance and never traditional plan
2. Insurance is required once you have a family and typically till the age of 50; do not buy insurance for longer periods
3. Purchase insurance online after comparing rates
4. Typical premium amount should be 0.5 - 1% of your income; it the premiums come much higher or lower, you are probably making some mistake in calculating your insurance needs.

How Exactly to Determine Just How Much Life-insurance you want

Some folks believe that life-insurance is merely for the affluent. But it's the operating person of small means that truly must consider what a sudden death along with a lack of profit can mean to those left out. This composition can allow you to really see the advantages of insurance, in an entirely new light.  If you're between the ages of 20 to 50, term life-insurance could be the easiest & most powerful kind of insurance. Cash value insurance actually is logical for individuals’ people that are affluent and on age 50. A cash-value strategy may be tempting; however it will not be just as powerful.

Attempt to lead a wholesome lifestyle. The fitter you are the cheaper your life-insurance will be just as insurers assume you will live more. Remember, you'll be anticipated to pay a higher premium on a life-insurance policy for whatever shortens your life-expectancy, for instance being overweight, smoking, taking specific drug, etc.

When you're choosing your life-insurance policy, it's important to discover just how much coverage you truly want. The quantity of money which will probably be required after your passing will probably be unique to your own family's scenario, which means you're the sole one who is able to compute the required coverage. Do not let a salesperson shove you into more protection than you truly want.

Read all the fine-print of the plan before you sign in the line. Understand what reductions, exclusions, inclusions, and some other fine print is contained to the arrangement. You might find that there's a no payment clause for pre-existing disorders. Careful reading can help you become certain your partner will receive the money that they will want.  Inform your representative when you are in possession of a speculative occupation or take part in extreme hobbies. Even though you'll need to pay higher rates should you participate in speculative activities, it is best to be honest with your insurance carrier. If the business finds out that you are participating in such actions from a person besides you, you might lose your qualification for protection. Additionally, not revealing this info could be thought to be fraud, which carries big penalties.

When considering life-insurance consider whether or not you want your coverage to make you cash, or only be there in the occurrence of the departure. There is actually life insurance which also doubles as annuities. That makes it possible to possess a good deal of insurance as soon as your children are minors and a good deal of retirement savings for you, as you age.
 
Annuities
        
An annuity is a type of insurance product that can make it easier for you to meet your long-range retirement goals. This insurance product pays out income and is often used as part of a larger retirement strategy. Annuities in Wilmington are a popular choice for those investors who want to enjoy a steady stream of income during their retirement years.

Types of Annuities in Wilmington NC

One of the safest ways to meet your retirement goals is through low-risk investment strategies, such as annuities. In Wilmington, fixed annuities are low-risk investments that can help you reach your savings goals.

Here is how annuities in Wilmington work: you make an investment in the annuity, which will then make payments to you in the future. Annuity income you receive from an annuity can be allocated monthly, quarterly, or annually. You can also receive annuity income in one lump sum, if you choose. The amount of money that you receive will depend on what type of payment option that you select.

Regardless of your age or income, annuity investments in Wilmington may be a smart investment tool for your needs. You won't lose the money you put into an annuity, as could happen with other riskier investment strategies. As an added benefit, any interest from annuities that you receive is earned on a tax-deferred basis. Annuities can also offer a wide variety of other benefits for investors, such as guaranteed interest rates. Annuities in Wilmington allow you to put aside cash and defer paying taxes. Since you are able to keep every dollar that you've put aside without having to worry about a tax bill, annuities can be a big advantage over taxable investments.

Life Insurance: A Better Opportunity to Spend a Royal Life

The options are many and appealing but the matter of fact to pick the life insurance and the company whose offering is more reasonable and reliable raises a need to conduct research before unveiling an attractive opportunity for the safe and secure future. Nowadays, youngsters are more inclined towards attaining a life insurance policy due to awareness of the futuristic benefits that come along with it. Life is unpredictable therefore purchasing a life insurance policy whenever a person gets aware saves in all respects of living.

Taking life insurance policy in older ages to secure the life of heirs has not become a phenomenon anymore. Now the concept to attain this product has changed the thinking of consumer and the older group has not become the target market only.

Presently, young people are getting influenced and targeted the most by insurance companies to promote this product. The preeminent factor of buying a life insurance policy in the young age is to avail the benefit of low premiums and high chances to spend royal life in the future.

Before opting for a life insurance policy some steps must follow in order to secure the future of not only just yours but your loved ones too.

For making a decision to buy a life insurance policy, a person at any age must determine the number of necessities and their expenses that are ongoing throughout a lifetime. In order to conduct an analysis try the online insurance companies’ standardized list of needs a person should consider while choosing a particular type of policy. This will certainly help to make the right decision on which policy to choose.

An insurance agent also serves a great help to undermine the need analysis. After the preparation of the list the next step is to consult a life insurance agent to pick the ultimate option that will suit the best to a client to pursue ahead. Life insurance is further categorized into various kinds, according to suitability and living, you can pick the most appropriate. Two major types of life insurance are term life insurance and permanent life insurance. In order to opt for the policy that you want to continue for a specific time period, you must consider term life insurance for to achieve life’s general ongoing purposes. While permanent life insurance as depict from its name serves till the death of a person. Permanent life insurance is also classified into whole, variable, and universal life insurance policy.

Among youngsters term life insurance is most popular and can be achieved online while in case of purchase of permanent life insurance a person has to seek advice from an insurance agent to understand the regulations and working on tenure.

Whether a student who is studying but want to attain the educational loans because parents can’t serve ever to fulfill the expenses of the education or a person who is the only source to bread and butter for home, life insurance is a must option to hold safe and sound future and a prevention from any unexpected occurrence in life.

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