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NEWS LETTER
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Americas
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Clients and brokers are required to complete Customer ID Forms prior to policy issuance for any policies requested on or after January 15, 2013, regardless of policy inception date. This is the latest addition to the country's anti-money laundering requirements.
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Asia
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The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) now requires listed companies to have D&O insurance and for the directors of listed companies to undergo continuous professional development training. The new mandates are among several Recommended Best Practices for corporate governance that HKSE upgraded to mandated Code Provisions, effective April 1, 2012.
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Effective April 1, 2013, the Japanese government is increasing premiums for compulsory auto liability insurance (CALI) by an average of 13.5%. Premiums last increased by an average of 11.7% in April 2011. The greatest impact of this increase will be seen on 24 month period policies for passenger cars; premiums on these policies are expected to rise from 2,890 yen to 27,840 yen per period.
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The Executive Committee of the Taiwan Non-life Insurance Association (NLIA) is pushing to implement cash before cover for auto insurance, effective May 2013. If implemented, auto coverage would commence only after premium is received by the insurer.
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Europe
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Policies issued or renewed on or after March 1, 2013 are subject to an increased stamp duty charge. On new contracts for general liability and other classes, the charge has increased from EUR 1.71 to EUR 2.0. For property and fire, the charge has increased from EUR 0.86 to EUR 1.0 per contract for premiums below EUR 1,709, and from EUR 1.71 to EUR 2.0 for premiums above EUR 1,709.
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A new law, effective January 1, 2013, has made professional liability insurance compulsory for financial investment intermediaries in Germany. To comply with the new law, intermediaries must have minimum coverage limits of EUR 1.13M (~USD 1.4M) per claim and an annual aggregate of EUR 1.7M (~USD 2.2M) in place by July 1 of this year.
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The Road Accident Victims' Fund tax rate payable by the insured remains 2.5%, however, as of January 1, 2013, it is charged on 95.3% premium instead of 95.9% - reducing the effective tax rate to 2.3825%.
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Effective January 1, 2013, a new law requires "carriers" to purchase liability insurance to protect the life, health and property of passengers. Carriers are defined as entities or individuals that provide any sort of transportation for a fee. The new law does not apply to companies transporting employees.
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