This week in insurance: New health and cyber products launch, Japan solvency remains strong, AI focus intensifies

Reinsurance renewals at 1 April continued the softening trend.

The insurance industry from 6 to 10 April saw a strong mix of product innovation, strategic retirement and cyber protection partnerships.

Prudential Singapore has launched a suite of Integrated Shield Plan (IP) supplementary plans that provide comprehensive medical protection at lower premiums. 

The three new riders are at least 30% more affordable than the previous suite across all age groups and plan types, with some having even larger differences. 

CTF Life is collaborating with The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC), aimed at offering customers an additional option for managing their wealth after retirement. 

By introducing referrals for the “Policy Reverse Mortgage Programme” (“PRMP”) and the “Reverse Mortgage Programme” (RMP), the partnership combines CTF Life’s retirement product with the HKMC’s reverse mortgage solutions to deliver comprehensive retirement planning support that meets customers’ financial needs at every stage of life.

Allianz Insurance Singapore has launched a digital lifestyle protection plan to address the rise in online scams and e-commerce disputes in the country.

Allianz Cyber360 Protect is designed to cover these risks by providing reimbursement for losses from certain fraudulent transactions, including those linked to phishing, smishing and stolen payment cards.

Reinsurance renewals at 1 April continued the softening trend seen earlier in the year, with risk-adjusted property catastrophe rates returning to levels last seen in the early 2020s, according to Howden Re.

In Japan, catastrophe excess-of-loss programmes recorded risk-adjusted price reductions of up to 20%, with a point estimate of 16%.

Similarly, Japan’s major domestic insurers will maintain sufficiently strong economic solvency ratios under J-ICS, the new economic value-based capital regime, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

Fitch considers J-ICS conservative for Japan due to high mass lapse risk charges that are based on the United Kingdom and European assumptions.

Meanwhile, India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) saw its insurance and reinsurance market expand from $102m in 2020 to more than $1.2b by 2025, marking an over 11-fold increase in five years.

The growth was influenced by a rise in the number of insurers and reinsurers operating within the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Also, Insurance companies are being warned that 2026 will be a year when technology execution matters more than experimentation, according to a new CB Insights report on insurance technology (insurtech). The report says large insurers, including Aviva, Chubb and MetLife are building AI capabilities in-house, raising pressure on insurtech firms to show clear commercial results. 

It says the market is moving away from speculative investment and toward startups that can prove they can deploy AI tools effectively and deliver measurable returns.