SINGAPORE ACTUARIAL SOCIETY Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore 7 th General Insurance Conference Pushing the Boundaries 28 th 29 th May 2015 As competition intensifies for General Insurance companies throughout the region, there is a need to break free of the current constraints and so push the boundaries. Boundaries come in many forms such as data, models, customers, distribution, competition and regulations. A recognition and understanding of all of these issues will be vital for the successful business of the future. These areas, and more, will be covered at this year s conference in Singapore. The conference is open to all general insurance professionals. There is a good mix of technical and non-technical papers so anyone with an interest in General Insurance issues in the region will benefit from attending. This programme is approved for listing on the Financial Training Scheme (FTS) Programme Directory and is eligible for FTS claims subject to all eligibility criteria being met. Please note that in no way does this represent an endorsement of the quality of the training provider and programme. Participants are advised to assess the suitability of the programme and its relevance to participants business activities or job roles. The FTS is available to eligible entities, at a 50% funding level of programme fees subject to all eligibility criteria being met. FTS claims may only be made for programmes listed on the FTS Programme Directory with the specified validity period. Please refer to www.ibf.org.sg for more information.
REGISTRATION Details DATE : 28-29 May 2015 VENUE : Resorts World Sentosa The Seminar is conducted in English. Conference Times Thursday: Registration from 8:30 - Opening at 9:00 - Close at 18:00 - Dinner at 19:30 - Close at 22:30 Friday: Opening at 9:00 - Close at 18:00 Registration Fees Early Bird Registration (Payment by 20 May 2015) Standard Registration SAS Member Fellow or Associate Ordinary or Affiliate Student SGD 525.00 SGD 475.00 SGD 25.00 SGD 650.00 SGD 550.00 (first 10 registrations only) SAS Non-Member SGD 625.00 SGD 750.00 The registration fee includes attendance to all sessions and handout materials. If two colleagues from the same firm wish to attend on different days, the higher registration fee plus an administration fee of S$50 is payable. Please register the first person online and email patsy@actuaries.org.sg the name, SAS ID (if applicable) and email address for the second delegate. Note that FTS funding is only applicable upon completion of both days. Full registration fees must be paid before the valid dates for conference admittance Payment is possible by: Credit Card (Paypal), Bank Transfer, Local Cheque or Cash Registration Process To register for this conference, please go to www.actuaries.org.sg and complete the Sign Up details. To aid in our planning, as part of the registration process, please indicate which sessions and meals you are planning on attending. For members of the SAS, please login first to aid in the registration of the event. For any queries on the registration process, please contact: patsy@actuaries.org.sg Cancellation Policy All cancellations should be made by sending an email to patsy@actuaries.org.sg. An acknowledgement of the cancellation will be emailed to you. For cancellations made before the 25 th of May 2015, 50% of the conference fees will be refunded (less all bank administrative and commission charges). No refunds will be made for cancellations thereafter. The Society reserves the right to cancel the seminar if conditions warrant. In the event of such cancellation, registration fees will be refunded in full. We are not responsible for any airfares or hotel penalties that a delegate may incur due to such cancellation.
Miscellaneous SPONSORS A special thank-you to our sponsors for this year: - Platinum Sponsor - RGA - Gold Sponsors Towers Watson; Aon Benfield - Silver Sponsor Swiss Re - Bronze Sponsor - Society of Actuaries - Media Partners Asia Insurance Review, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - Pen Sponsor IPS Search CPD (CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT) This event can count towards CPD. WEATHER AND ATTIRE The average temperature in Singapore is around 25 to 30 degrees Celsius, though the room temperature will be much lower. Business casual attire is recommended for the seminar. VISA REQUIREMENT Please check with your travel agent. CONFERENCE ADDRESS and HOTEL RESERVATIONS The conference will be held at RWS Conference Centre Virgo rooms Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore has a number of hotels available close to the conference venue. Please contact the hotels directly for availability and pricing. Resorts World Sentosa 39 Artillery Avenue, Sentosa Singapore 099958 T : (+65) 6577 8888 F : (+65) 6577 7770 www.rwsentosa.com Two shuttle buses at scheduled timing will be available from Harbourfront to the convention centre each morning. For more information on the conference and registration, please contact: Ms Patsy Lau at (+65) 96477577 or email at patsy@actuaries.org.sg.
Day 1: Thursday 28 th May BAU for actuaries: Big data, Analytics and Unstructured data by SAS Working Party chaired by Mudit Gupta The first part is an introduction to big data, why actuaries should pay notice and what skills they need to develop. And what tangible steps they need to get started. In the second part of the presentation we intend to show a case study which we are developing at the moment. It will be based on real data, analysed using R to show members the practical process involved in such an exercise. Depending on how much interest this gains at the conference we wish to use this case study for a hands-on workshop after the conference where the participants do the actual modelling themselves on their laptops. Getting Started with Price Optimisation by Simon Lee Demand modelling and insurance price optimization are quickly gaining attention in North America as a growing number of companies acknowledge the need for more sophisticated pricing. This session will provide guidance on what companies should consider when they start adopting these techniques, for example the techniques available in the market, the results of academic research, and diagnostics available to evaluate the models. Presenters will also explore the key challenges companies should expect to face theoretically, technically and operationally and the solutions which can be considered to deal with them. Empowering Customer segmentation through digitalization by Matthias de Ferrieres What digital provides Critical path to success Segmentation shift Yesterday: age, income, gender segmentation: adapt their need to our capacity Today: spending, social style, interest, emotional segmentation: adapt our capacity to their need Tomorrow: immediate & connected segmentation: create needs & capacity
Day 1: Thursday 28 th May Introduction to Behavioral Economics and its Application to Auto Insurance Renewal Pricing by Reuven Shnaps Facing increasing market challenges, insurance companies are constantly striving to find a competitive edge. With the wealth of data available today, insurers have new opportunities to tap into advanced techniques that allow them to better analyze and predict consumer behavior as well as the impact of their behavior on business performance. In this session we will provide a short introduction to behavioral economics and give concrete examples of common findings that may emerge from the analysis of general insurer data with a focus on pricing. Hyperconnectivity By Hussain Ahmad So what does it mean for insurers to operate in a world that is (increasingly) hyperconnected? Insurers providing workplace injury cover should vary their offerings, to account for the impact of hyperconnectivity on people s lifestyles. We are now able to connect to the world regardless of where we are and what we are doing. Social norms are changing. Our work can follow us to remote corners of the world irrespective of time. Many people sit in front of their computers for the most part of the day and this poses negative health consequences, so much so that an article in the January 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review claimed that "sitting is the smoking of our generation. Regulatory Updates By Lee Wai Yi Updates from the Singapore regulator PRAD Margins By SAS Working Party A review of the methods used in Singapore to determine the PRAD margins along with benchmarks of the values used.
Day 1: Thursday 28 th May Breaking down Borders Trade Credit Risk By Choong Hern Ooi & Bernice Zhang With the ASEAN Economic Community integrating in 2015, firms are expecting increased connectivity of the regional trade network. While this is expected to bring about increased trade and economic activity in the region, corporations are likely to be more susceptible to events and decisions occurring outside familiar grounds, further exposing their business to additional trade credit risk. Firms have been more aware of such risks since the global financial crisis and are increasingly interested in managing their risks, especially with regards to cash flow and solvency. With the softening insurance and reinsurance market, trade credit is gradually viewed as a new avenue for insurers to expand into, despite weak economic conditions in the region. Liberalisation of policies allowing the private sector to enter local markets such as China and South Korea, amongst others in Asia, will fuel market growth in the region. We aim to provide a brief introduction to trade credit insurance and discuss its role in facilitating trade activities, both international and domestic and explore trade credit modelling and its correlations with the bigger economic environment. We also seek to discuss trade credit practices in developed markets and their implications for the Asian market. The Living Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew: the past, present & future of Singapore insurance industry By Raymond Cheung The presentation aims to pay special tribute to our founder and first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew by highlighting some of his key contributions in helping to shape the insurance industry in Singapore in the past, present and even future. The presentation also aims to present both the challenges and opportunities for the Singapore insurance industry in the current and future times, and that to a large extent, is a continuation of the living legacy laid down by our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
GENERAL GENERAL INSURANCE CONFERENCE DATE: 30 th INSURANCE 31 st CONFERENCE DATE: 28 th - 29 th May May 2013 2015 SPEAKERS Day 2: Friday 29 th May Reinsurance Credit Risk Management By Sifang Zhang and Mansi Jain innovative tools have been invented, for example, the CDS approach, the Probability of Default (PD) approach, rating index, etc. Actuarial science also has a role to play, as stochastic modeling may help better identify/forecast the reinsurer default risk. Our presentation will look into these new tools and suggest a comprehensive approach to reinsurance credit risk management. Maximizing Reinsurance Potential By Sharad Bajla The role of actuaries in general insurance has been progressing rapidly over the years. Recently, actuaries have started involving themselves with various kinds of analytics based on the insurer s data. One topic that has piqued the interest of heads of companies is whether the reinsurance structure currently in place is making optimum use of resources. This is fairly prominent in Singapore where direct insurers ceded 35% of their premiums in 2013 (USA is close to 12%) while reinsurers also ceded 28%. The presentation will highlight how an actuary can go beyond his conventional responsibilities and also play a vital role in helping the management and the reinsurance teams make key decisions while purchasing reinsurance. Will Financial Markets Change The Way We Model Reinsurance? By Daniel Burren A development which in my view has the potential to change the way we price and structure (re)insurance treaties is the rapidly growing interest in transferring reinsurance risks to the financial markets by means of insurance-linked securities and other instruments. This so-called alternative capital has grown by 25% in 2014 to reach USD 62bn which corresponds to 10.8% of global reinsurer capital (according to Aon Benfield s Jan 2015 Reinsurance Market Outlook). My talk highlights what this development means for pricing and structuring (re)insurance treaties. Besides, this exciting topic provides ground to challenge technical assumptions.
Day 2: Friday 29 th May Disaster Risk Financing By Jaykishan Jeyendran, Chiew Yee Ng, Rahul Patil, Sastry Dahra, George Attard The levels of non-life insurance penetration in the emerging markets of Asia are still low compared to the more matured markets like US and Europe. However, the degree of government involvement in the natural catastrophe insurance market in Asia has increased in the recent years following the spate of natural disasters. This development has important implications for insurers looking to enter new markets and thereby facilitate increase in coverage levels.the proposed paper aims to provide some insights into the following: An overview of government scheme origins and benefits, motivating factors and considerations Key areas where effective regulation and market intervention can help to increase insurance coverage and address the Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) gap ' Case studies on the schemes in the region such as Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia Nat Cat Pools By SAS Working Party chaired by Darren Ma UBI by Anthony Atkins UBI (Usage-based Insurance) is becoming increasing common for Motor insurance in the US and European markets. By using telematics technology to collect and transmit data on vehicle location and driving behaviour, insurers can enhance premium rating and underwriting, achieve better claims outcome and enhance the overall customer experience. Although the adoption of telematics technology for UBI is still at its infancy in many Asian markets, we are seeing an growing level of interest in this area by general insurers in Asia. The presentation will aim to provide the latest developmental trend in telematics, explore its potential applications in UBI and exchange pointers on the practical challenges for insurers in implementing UBI in Asia.
Day 2: Friday 29 th May Interconnected Business Planning By Matthew Maguire, Roshan Perera, Yuen Leng Chin, Sheng Chieh Loh Business planning is a forward-looking exercise based on collective information gathered from across the Company to decide the appropriate strategies to meet its objective. However, very often, such information gathered is fragmented, resulting inappropriate strategies being planned. In this session, we will demonstrate how actuaries can add value to the business planning process through our ability to dissect big data and provide valuable insights of the business and its risks. This live demonstration will show how business planning can be transformed into a decisive competitive advantage, with the interests aligned from the boardroom down to the functional units. Death of a GI Company by Yin Lawn The theme pushing the boundaries reminds me that it can be a double-edged sword. What if you have a company that pushed the boundaries of regulations, laws, and accounting rules and even went beyond the boundaries?