Page 17 - Insurance Times July 2019

Bangladesh Govt plans to Swiss Re confirms Re Assure's plan for London IPO
Swiss Re has recently confirmed that its UK-based ReAssure Group Plc unit plans
bring all citizens under
to undertake an initial public offering, giving the
National Health Insurance business firepower to expand its closed life and
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh pension business.
Hasina has said
The company is all set to begin trading in London
that the govern-
in July, according to a statement from the Swiss
ment is planning
parent company. ReAssure is likely to be valued at
to bring all citi-
3 billion to 3.5 billion pounds, Swiss Re Chief Financial Officer John Dacey said.
zens under na-
UK insurers manage 1.4 trillion pounds of assets tied to life policies, according
tional health in-
to Hodges. Of that total, 390 billion pounds sits in closed books of business.
surance coverage
Firms that specialize in closed business, such as ReAssure and its rival Phoenix
to ensure healthcare services.
Group Holdings Plc, say they can manage the assets more effectively than main-
In this regard, the government is
stream insurers that need to compete for new customers.
implementing a pilot project in
"Absolutely the ambition is to do deals, to consolidate. I am ideally looking for
Madhupur, Ghatail and Kalihati
books with mixed life and pensions in them," Hodges said in an interview.
upazilas of Tangail by bringing poor
people under health insurance cov- ReAssure will focus on the U.K. market, but could also seek to expand in Ger-
erage, the PM said. many and the Netherlands, Hodges said. ReAssure has about 69 billion pounds
of assets under management and employs about 2,500 people, he said.
The government has already formu-
lated the Healthcare Financing Strat- In preparation for the IPO, ReAssure's two shareholders - Swiss Re and MS&AD
egy 2012-2032 to ensure universal Insurance Group Holdings Inc. - will boost the unit's capital by 481 million
healthcare services, she said in a pounds, according to an earlier statement. Swiss Re would seek to reduce its
scripted answer to a query from stake to below 50% from 75% currently.
Jatiya Party lawmaker Rustum Ali
Faraji during the PM's question-an- BGC Insurance Group to launch global aviation broker-
swer session.
age unit
The government has undertaken the
BGC Insurance Group (BGCI), a division of New York-based brokerage firm BGC
pilot project titled "Shasthya Suraksha
Partners, is planning to establish a new specialist global aviation and aerospace
Kormosuchi" (Health Protection
re/insurance brokerage. Aviation specialist Marcel Chad from JLT Aerospace has
Programme) to initially provide free
been appointed to oversee the operation of the new unit. He will initially op-
healthcare services to the poor in the
erate from London and will hold the responsibility of appointment a team of
three upazilas of Tangail. Under the
experts in the important aviation insurance centres worldwide.
project, free healthcare is being pro-
Earlier he worked as the CEO and deputy global chairman of Marsh Aviation
vided to poor people for 78 diseases.
Practice and most recently, Chad served as the partner of JLT Aerospace. BGC
"Work on spreading the pilot project
Insurance Group chief commercial officer Andrew Wallin said, "The current
to all nine upazilas of Tangail is going
market is stacked against aviation clients, with three brokers dominating this
on. If the piloting is successful, the
line of business because of their scale. For a significant independent player like
activities will be expanded through-
us with a client-focused approach, vision and technical prowess, the gap in the
out the country," Hasina said.
market offers huge disruptive potential."
The PM also said the government
Chad said, "I wanted to do something new, creating an exciting alternative for
has taken various steps to reach
clients, driven by leading talent and technology, that could truly invigorate the
healthcare services to people's door-
aviation industry and put customers at the centre of the proposition."
step. The government has different
BGC Insurance Group, under its specialist brands - Ed, Besso, Junge and Coo-
projects to build and renovate
per Gay France - offers global wholesale specialty insurance and reinsurance
health-related infrastructure, and
broking solutions. Its underwriting operations include Epsilon, Globe Underwrit-
increase the number of beds at hos-
ing and Cooper Gay France and , deliver specialist insurance products and ser-
pitals by 2022, Hasina said.
vices in the UK, France and Australia.
The Insurance Times, July 2019 17