MANILA, Philippines — The tropical cyclone expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has intensified into a super typhoon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Tuesday. Pagasa weather specialist Rhea Torres said “Mawar” intensified into a super typhoon as of 2:00 pm. “As of 2 pm kanina ay tuluyan po itong lumakas at naging isang super typhoon,” Torres said in a public weather forecast. (As of 2:00 p.m., Mawar has intensified into a super typhoon.) Super typhoon Mawar was last spotted some 2,285 kilometers east of the Visayas and moving north at 15 kilometers per hour. Torres also reiterated that the super typhoon could enter PAR by Friday or Saturday. “Sa ngayon wala pa itong direktang epekto sa anumang bahagi ng ating bansa ngunit habang tinatahak nito ang karagatan ay posibleng lumapit ng ating PAR by Friday or Saturday,” she said. (Currently, it does not have a direct effect but while moving over the sea, it could come near PAR by Friday or Saturday.) Once it enters the PAR, the typhoon will be given the local name “Betty.” It would be the second storm to hit the country this year and the first this month. Source: inquirer.net

A new report which surveyed 5,000 residents across 13 markets in Asia reveals that seven in 10 respondents (68%) have changed the way they define success in life in recent years. Many cited (43%) the pandemic as a major factor in re-evaluating their priorities. The report Fulfilling Futures - Re-thinking well-being in Asia: How outlooks on life are changing, a report released by Prudential and written by the Economist Impact looks at how people's aspirations and their concepts of success may be changing amid longer life spans and ever-evolving challenges to health and wellbeing. Five years ago, professional success would have been their chief aspiration. That has now given way to the priority of spending more time with family which surpasses financial, career or even personal health aspirations as determinants of life satisfaction. Maintaining emotional and mental health have risen on people's priority list as well. It has risen from near the bottom of their priority list five years ago to rank second in importance today. The report explores how people in Asia, at a time of heightened uncertainty, assess different aspects of their well-being, including their physical and mental health, personal finances, social lives, and interaction with their communities. It also explores their use of digital technology to pursue their aims in these areas. Prudential MD strategic business group Lilian Ng said, "It is clear from this research that what matters to Asians has changed in the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has had the effect of making people stop and think about their priorities in life. "As a business focused on helping our customers and communities get the most out of life through making healthcare affordable and accessible and by promoting financial inclusion, understanding what impacts and influences people's wellbeing will enable us to better support them in leading longer and more fulfilling lives." One-third of Asian respondents say they regularly make contributions to a retirement fund as a means of improving their financial health. It is also clear from the survey responses that many people are looking to diversify their sources of income. Prudential provides life and health insurance and asset management in 24 markets across Asia and Africa. Source: asiainsurancereview.com

Strong, sustained performance in major takaful markets, an increasing understanding among consumers that the principles of Islamic finance are aligned with many sustainability goals and a large untapped market of young, affluent Muslims could just be the trifecta of growth drivers that the sector needs to maximize its potential. By Amir Sadiq For the longest time, despite its oft talked about potential, takaful markets around the world have really only been able to grow modestly. Things are changing, however, and there are signs that the sector could be set for period of strong, sustained growth. A recent report by IMARC Group highlighted how the global takaful market size reached $30.5bn in 2022 and is expected to reach $54.9bn by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% during 2023-2028. It said that takaful is rapidly gaining momentum, particularly in the Asia Pacific and the GCC, owing to large Muslim populations - and that Muslims currently account for a fifth of the total global population. These levels are expected to increase in the future. Some drivers of the sector’s growth drivers include: The majority of the world’s Muslim population are young with 60% of them currently under 25 years of age. With rising affluence levels, this group has the potential to represent a customer base for a fairly long duration if it is captured early. The low penetration rate of conventional insurance in affluent Muslim regions like the GCC, make takaful a potentially powerful tool to raise insurance awareness in these regions. Takaful is still able to make a strong business case for itself among both Muslims and non-Muslims due to ethical investment policies, strong growth prospects and competitive pricing. Another report by Expert Market Research, which expects the global takaful market to grow (CAGR) 13% during 2023-2028, said that in addition to rising awareness of financial risk among Muslim countries, rising investments towards proper planning and effective strategizing of takaful broking are leading to an expansion of the takaful customer base. In an op-ed in Middle East Insurance Review’s (MEIR) October issue last year, Fitch Ratings global head of Islamic finance Bashar Al-Natoor said that globally, the takaful sector has the potential to expand by way of cross over to non-Muslim markets, such as by finding commonalities between takaful and other forms of insurance. “For instance, friendly societies, cooperative, mutual and micro-insurance could be catalysts that help provide takaful markets with a meaningful push into non-Muslim markets,” he said. GCC growth prospects In a commentary published in March, Moody’s said that the GCC takaful industry’s growth prospects are favourable, reflecting the region’s buoyant economy. “The GCC region’s post-pandemic economic rebound, fuelled by rising oil prices and government investment in economic diversification, will drive faster premium growth. Rising prices were a supportive factor in the second half of 2022, particularly in retail lines, where there was steep discounting during the pandemic,” it said. “However, we expect intense competition to constrain future price increases. Increased demand for health and life insurance, the spread of compulsory insurance coverage, and still low insurance penetration indicate ample scope for future growth.” In an interview published in the January 2023 issue of MEIR, S&P Global Ratings director and lead analyst, insurance ratings Emir Mujkic said that growth prospects of takaful operators in the GCC will also be supported by new mandatory coverage and overall higher insurance demand. In S&P’s view, higher hydrocarbon prices, with the assumption of an average Brent price of $100 per barrel (/bbl) for the rest of 2022 and $85/bbl in 2023, will fuel accelerated economic growth in the oil-exporting region. This should feed through to the takaful sector where gross written contributions are expected to grow around 10% in 2022 and 5%-10% in 2023. Malaysia growing steadily Malaysia is one of the largest takaful markets in the world. According to the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), the country’s takaful industry posted a strong growth in 2022 on the back of the country’s post-lockdown recovery. Family takaful saw a penetration rate of 20.1% last year compared to 18.6% in 2021, based on the number of certificates in force relative to the Malaysian population, reported the news agency Bernama citing an MTA statement. The family takaful market saw annual takaful contributions of new businesses maintained above the MYR2bn ($451m), posting MYR2.19bn in 2022, marginally lower (1.9%) compared to MYR2.2bn in 2021. Gross contributions of total business in force was MYR8.34bn in 2022 last year, higher than the MYR7.42bn posted in 2021. General takaful business generated gross direct contributions of MYR4.6bn in 2022, a y-o-y increase of 21.1% over 2021. The MTA expects the takaful industry to maintain its growth momentum in 2023, albeit at a moderate rate. In February, The Malaysian Reserve, referencing research from AmInvestment Bank, said the country’s takaful industry has continued to grow at a faster rate than conventional insurance, recording a CAGR of 20.6% in 9M2022, outperforming conventional insurance’s CAGR of 10.8%. Speaking to MEIR earlier this year, Prudential BSN CEO Wan Saifulrizal said the demand for takaful products has been increasing in Malaysia because of the growing awareness of the importance of insurance, especially among Muslims who prefer shariah-compliant financial products. Indonesia’s positive outlook Indonesia is another major market for takaful, and prospects for the sector are positive, according to a Fitch Ratings report in January this year. It said the takaful sector’s contribution in Indonesia will grow by 5%-10% in 2023, further supported by the developing Islamic finance ecosystem. The sector gained market share, at 9% of the insurance market in 11M2022 from 8% in 11M2021, mainly due to a 57% y-o-y increase in contributions from general shariah products. This stems from rising demand for takaful products as the economy recovers, said the report. This appears to reflect the sentiment among local players. In November last year, Indonesian Sharia Insurance Association associate director Erwin Noekman told local news that the takaful market has grown each year over the past decade, in terms of the number of business actors, assets and premium contributions. “This historical data gives rise to confidence that in the next few years, the shariah insurance industry will continue to grow,” he said, adding that the growth rate was expected to be in double digits for both assets and contributions. Takaful’s sustainability appeal While the various takaful markets and regions might have slightly different factors driving the growth of the sector, one overarching theme seems to be that the sustainability and social responsibility inherent to Islamic finance is proving to be a big draw for both Muslim and non-Muslim customers. An article on Zawya from August last year quoted CIMB bank group chief sustainability officer Rafe Haneef as saying that there is a growing recognition that the moral precepts of Islam have a lot in common with global standards like the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set out by the UN. During a 2021 Refinitiv webinar, Mr. Haneef said that Islamic banking [has always been] focused on social impact – ensuring that sectors which are socially harmful, such as alcohol, tobacco, arms, ammunition, pornography and gambling, have been excluded. “In essence, the SDGs are aspirations towards meeting the higher objectives of [Shariah law]: whether that’s eradicating poverty or ensuring the sustainability of life on earth or under the sea. These are all core responsibilities of humans, as dictated in the Quran itself,” he said. According to Refinitiv, an American-British global provider of financial market data and infrastructure, total Islamic finance assets will grow to nearly $5tn by 2025, up from $2.2tn a decade earlier. And in December, the Islamic Development Bank brought up how Islamic finance can be a powerful tool in boosting action against the climate crisis. “Addressing the climate emergency will require all the funding possible from as many diverse sources as can be accessed. Islamic climate finance instruments show strong potential to contribute to such efforts across Asia and more broadly,” it said.

Looking for the latest trends and insights in the insurtech industry? Look no further than ITC Asia! ITC Asia is the region’s largest insurtech event - offering unparalleled access to the most comprehensive and global gathering of tech entrepreneurs, investors, and insurance industry incumbents. Over the course of three days, the industry will convene to showcase new innovations, learn how to increase productivity and reduce costs, and ultimately enrich policyholders' lives. Superlative networking, with tens of thousands of meetings, is one of the hallmarks of an ITC event. Hear from key players in the insurance industry about where the market is heading, such as Manulife, Swiss Re, Zurich Insurance, Munich Re and more! Here are some of our confirmed speakers: · Chris Wei, Chief Client & Innovation Officer, Sunlife · Vinay Surana, Chief Executive Officer (Asia Pacific), Allianz Partners · Dr Yao Yuhui, Chief Data Officer, FWD Group · Jonas Boltz, CEO, Ergo Insurance Singapore · Jonathan Rake, CEO APAC, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions · Peta Latimer, CEO, Mercer Singapore · Michael Gourlay, Chairman, QBE Asia · Philippe Vezio, Deputy CEO & Chief Underwriting Officer, Tokio Marine Asia · Rohit Nambiar, Group Chief Executive Officer, Tune Protect Group · Tomasz Kurczyk, Chief Information Technology Officer, Prudential Financial Don’t miss the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation! ITC Asia will take place on 30 May 2023 – 1 Jun 2023 at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore. To save USD 200 off your conference pass, use the code PIRA200 Register here: http://bit.ly/3lV6VPb For questions, please reach out to Sherlyn at Sherlyn.Tay@clarionevents.com

Combatting the increased exploitation of software vulnerabilities with a layered 'defence in depth' cyber security strategy is essential to protect organizations according to a new report by specialty insurer Beazley. The latest edition of Beazley Cyber Services Snapshot report presents global data on incidents handled by its cyber services including cause of loss by industry, ransomware drivers, business email compromise and data theft. Among the latest findings, ransomware incident trends demonstrate increased exploitation of software vulnerabilities; particularly notable is the speed at which these incidents occur. The data reveals a fairly even split among the ways cyber criminals are able to launch ransomware attacks on organizations, underscoring the importance of a layered security strategy to keep today’s IT systems safe. With supply chain attacks further elevating this need for layered solutions, education on how to implement these tactics is vital. Beazley head of cyber services, international Christian Taube said, “Over the past quarter, our cyber services team has seen an uptick in network attacks, many of which have been driven by cloud-based software vulnerabilities and with recent supply chain attacks on the rise worldwide, the access opportunities available to hackers are increasing.” “Cyber criminals are getting quicker at identifying security weaknesses and using them to gain entry into networks. This means that organizations must work even harder to stay on top of these exposures – and to ensure that even if someone gains entry into their systems, multiple layers of defence are in place to prevent the worst outcome.” Source: asiainsurancereview.com

Author(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) As you know, we improved the reporting mechanism last year. A huge thanks to ARISE Network Leaders and members for the shared stories which illustrate well the impact of your efforts. As work unfolds this year, please already be on the lookout for stories that tell how ARISE members prevent disasters so that your enterprises and communities can thrive. ARISE Annual Report 2022

Beyond benefiting the planet and the society, sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures correlate with financial performance and enhance companies' profits according to a new research. The new study was conducted by Bain & Co and EcoVadis to assess how ESG activities impact an organization. It covered 100,000 companies tracked by EcoVadis, more than 95% of which are private. The study revealed that there is a clear connection between sustainability and business results in the areas of sustainable supply chain, renewable energy, employee satisfaction, diversity and inclusivity. The study found that when it comes to ESG issues, private equity executives are navigating a crosscurrent of pressures. Some limited partners and stakeholders are pushing to embed various aspects of sustainability into investment decisions and portfolio company management, while other stakeholders question its usefulness. The research examined how various aspects of sustainability and ESG activities - things like setting ESG targets, tracking results, embedding sustainability into management processes, procuring sustainably, and putting in place programmes to reduce carbon and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion - correlate with both ESG outcomes and financial performance. Not every analysis yielded a positive correlation, but the research did reveal that, in addition to benefiting the planet and the society, ESG activities have no strong negative correlations with financial outcomes; in fact, they are associated with encouraging revenue growth. The findings indicate that positive ESG outcomes are a trait of successful companies and that sustainability measures correlate with better financial performance. Many factors influence a company’s financial results, and it’s not possible to say that these companies’ sustainability efforts led to their strong financial outcomes. While these early findings are encouraging, the ESG landscape remains nascent. As ESG data becomes richer and more nuanced, even stronger evidence of a relationship between ESG activities and financial results is likely to emerge. Companies with strong ESG activities produce strong ESG outcomes. They improve carbon emissions, use renewable energy, and have more diverse leadership and talent. Working together like the gears of a pocket watch, these activities correlate with improvement in financial and operational results, including higher profitability and revenue growth, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.

Greater efforts to limit death and destruction from disasters will help us protect development progress and adapt to climate change Smashing homes and health facilities, while wiping out crops and flooding widespread areas, Cyclone Freddy, which hit southeast Africa in February and March of this year, was a preview into the future. In the worst-affected areas, people were using their bare hands to dig through rubble and mud, searching for survivors. We are not reducing planet-heating emissions fast enough to stop climate change -and now we are faced with the daunting task of preparing for worst-case scenarios of increasingly extreme weather events. To understand where the world stands in preventing such events from becoming disasters, the UN General Assembly mandated the midterm review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a key international agreement adopted in 2015 by 187 countries to reduce disaster losses by the year 2030. Eight years into its implementation, many of the past disaster lessons seem to have been ignored and, as a report on the findings of the midterm review states, “progress has stalled and, in some cases, reversed.” For example, while more and more countries have adopted national disaster risk reduction strategies, half of the world remains without early warning systems. Intersecting crises According to the report, there has been an 80% increase in the number of people affected by disasters since 2015. While the number of people affected was rising, disasters were becoming more complex and more expensive too, with an average above $520 billion per year between 2015 and 2021, which is estimated to be significantly undervalued. At the same time, there has been no commensurate increase in funding for disaster risk reduction. The Midterm Review points to a rapid accumulation of disaster risk that is building up and intersecting with other crises, such as increasing conflicts, growing poverty and deteriorating ecosystems. In other words: disaster risk is spiralling out of control. And as the world’s societies, technologies and environments have become hyperconnected, disasters can spread quickly and widely. The COVID-19 pandemic began as a local outbreak in 2019 but spread around the world to kill 6.5 million people by the end of 2022 and send shockwaves through the global economy. Flooding in Pakistan last year affected more than 33 million people and damaged 4.4 million acres of agricultural land, an area the same size as the nation of Kuwait. This severely impacted food security and put increasing pressure on global agricultural markets. These disasters tend to hit developing countries hardest. These are the countries that have contributed the least to creating the climate crisis and have the weakest defences and least resources for adaptation. Progress on preparedness There are areas of progress, including on data quality and analysis, and how countries are organizing themselves to adopt a prevention-oriented approach through national disaster risk reduction strategies. To date, 125 countries have reported developing such strategies. These support the development of strong and inclusive governance systems to manage disaster risk and their potential to cause a cascade of dangerous effects. And there are examples to learn from. Costa Rica’s legislation allows for all institutions to allocate budgets for prevention and emergency response. Australia’s Disaster Ready Fund invests up to A$200 million per year from 2023-2024 in disaster prevention and resilience initiatives. Barbados’ sovereign debt disaster clauses allow for an immediate debt moratorium in the event of an economic impact caused by a disaster. Disaster preparedness has also advanced and is now more effective in saving lives. This is reflected in a decline in disaster-related mortality (barring the impact of COVID-19) from 1.77 per 100,000 global population in the decade 2005-2014 to 0.84 in the decade 2012-2021. A safer world is achievable. If countries invest the resources to understand and reduce risks, disasters can be prevented. UN meeting The challenge now is to accelerate progress to meet the scale of the challenge. The report captures several recommendations, which will be discussed over two days on May 18-19, at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York. The recommendations include: Make all of government – from finance and planning to agriculture and energy – account for the real costs of disaster risks and incentivize prevention, moving away from single entity responsibility. Value resilience in our global financial system, including by addressing short-termism and market failures which neglect to factor disaster risks into investments. Guarantee the rights of all people to access disaster risk information and to participate in decision-making. Empowering women, persons with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples is crucial to counter deepening inequalities and diminishing civic spaces, which are increasing vulnerability and driving up humanitarian needs. Preventing disasters is a shared responsibility and right. If we can limit the death and destruction from disasters, then we will be able to protect global progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and adapt to our changing climate. If not, as we saw with Cyclone Freddy, a lot of progress could come undone. Opinion piece by Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

Most countries in Asia and the Pacific are insufficiently prepared to face extreme weather events and natural disasters according to a new study by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The extreme weather and Nat CAT events are growing in intensity and frequency due in part to climate change according to the ESCAP report Findings in the Race to Net Zero: Accelerating Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific. The 96-page report reveals that countries in the region lack sizeable financial means to support adaptation and mitigation efforts and the data necessary for climate action. Over the past 60 years, temperatures in Asia and the Pacific have increased faster than the global mean. Six of the top 10 countries most affected by disasters are in the region, where food systems are disrupted, economies damaged, and societies undermined. The report further says that while the region suffers the worst consequences of climate change, it is also a major perpetrator, accounting for over half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This share is increasing as populations grow and economies continue to be powered by fossil fuels. ESCAP executive secretary and UN under-secretary general Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said, “Measures to put the economies of Asia and the Pacific on a low-carbon pathway and adapt and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, must be front and centre of the region’s post-pandemic recovery.” In a press statement ESCAP said that the sum of countries’ actions in nationally determined contributions to cut emissions and adapt to climate change falls short of the required ambition under the Paris agreement. The ESCAP report sets out the transformations needed in three main sectors – energy, low-carbon mobility and logistics, and international trade and investment. It further provides concrete proposals on how these major shifts can be financed and how better to measure challenges and progress towards a net-zero carbon future in support of sustainable development. Source: asiainsurancereview.com

By Michael F. Rellosa WE are all aware of the importance of agriculture in the Philippines and how our food security hinges on the well-being of this sector. Though agriculture is still considered the backbone of the Philippine economy as it employs about 40 percent of Filipino workers, it only contributes an average of 20 percent to the gross domestic product. For the longest time, societal neglect of the sector has worsened the poverty situation. Farmers in rural areas have remained among the poorest group in the Philippines since 2006. A report from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) shows that agriculture is the primary source of income for poor rural people, and the only source for many of the poorest households with most of them depending on subsistence farming and fishing. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that farmers had a poverty incidence of 31.6 percent while fisherfolk had 26.2 percent. If one overlays the effects of climate change and the exacerbation of natural catastrophic events that it may bring, such as typhoons, floods, drought, pests and diseases, it does not augur well for this sector at all. According to Dr. Celia Reyes, a senior research fellow at the state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), agricultural or crop insurance has proven itself to be an effective risk management tool that can significantly reduce poverty among agricultural households given that it covers against the very risks that plague the sector, i.e., typhoons, floods, drought, pests and diseases. Currently, the only insurer that lends its capacity to provide agriculture or crop insurance is the state-owned Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC). The PCIC has valiantly provided cover where it was needed most, but recent studies have shown that the majority of farmers and fisherfolk have still not availed of insurance protection due to various reasons. A recent study by the World Bank recommends the entry of the private sector into this sphere. Not only can capacity be added, but the efficiencies of the private sector and its connections to the international reinsurance market can be harnessed to provide a more inclusive product that can address a wider range of agricultural activities. We can go beyond the traditional protection for grains such as rice and corn and cover high-value crops such as cacao, coffee, sugar, vegetables, livestock and even fish farming. New technologies can aid distribution, payment of premiums and claims, underwriting and claims surveying, as well as capacity building. We can possibly include the entire agriculture ecosystem from farm to table in a seamless coverage and use the enlarged scope and homogeneity of risks as leverage to help keep premium prices reasonable. Parametric products that lend themselves well to this sector can be further refined, sliced and diced to make it available to previously unserved/underserved markets. There are admittedly many ways in which a public-private partnership in agriculture insurance can help address the issues and there is a willingness on the part of the private sector to assist the PCIC perhaps first as co-insurers or re-insurers until it gets its feet wet and hones it underwriting skills in this area. The government itself, through its various agencies, recognizes this and is starting to open its doors to the private sector. Meanwhile, the private sector, given its strengthened financial capacity as it hurdles the last leg of its capital build-up program where each insurer is supposed to have a minimum net worth of P1.3 billion, is willing to use its capital and involve itself in new areas where its capacity and expertise is needed. Together, nation-building and food security may be bolstered. More work is needed as there are only less than a handful of commercial insurers which have signified their intent to delve into agriculture insurance. We need more if we are to successfully address the growing protection gap vis-à-vis the threats that climate change brings and hopefully help address our food security as well. Source: manilatimes.net