Code of corporate governance: NCRIB vows to protect memebers' interest

From left: Managing Director Old Mutual Nigeria General Insurance, Rachel Emenike; Former President Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Michael Olawole Cole, President NCRIB, Ayodapo Shoderu; Group Managing Director Old Mutual West Africa, Zomonoda Chizura; Executive Secretary NCRIB, Fatai Adegbenro and a member of staff of Old Mutual at the event.

The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) yesterday, vowed to defend and protect the interest of its members to ensure that they are not emasculated by the proposed Code of Corporate Governance which draft was recently issued by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Its Preseident Ayodapo Shoderu, made this pledge at the June members evening sponsored by Old Mutual Nigeria in Lagos.

He noted that the code has been generating some ripples, adding that the proposed 10 years tenure for Managing Directors in the code is inimical to broking operations.

He said the NCRIB is quite proactive on the matter and will ensure that the interest of its members are in no way emasculated by the code, stressing that as part of practical steps, the council has made a powerful representation at the Public Hearing held by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) yesterday in Lagos.

He maintained that the mandate of the NCRIB is to protect and preserve the existence of all members and that it will not shy away from the vision under any guise.

Shoderu also called on the government to inculcate the culture of insurance in every citizen as a tool to managing risks. He appealed to the government to also partner insurance industry to enforce all the compulsory insurances.

The Division Police Officer, Sabo Police Station, Sp Mary Ubangha, speaking on the theme: Police Concern on Insurance Fraud, urged insurers and brokers to devise means of reducing the huge insurance loss to fake paper racketeers.

She noted that the Police are concerned because over 90 per cent of insurance purchase at the licensing offices are fake, adding that the Police are burdened about the rot going on in the industry.        

From left: Group Managing Director Old Mutual West Africa, Zomonoda Chizura; President Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Ayodapo Shoderu; Former President NCRIB, Michael Olawole Cole; DPO Sabo Police Division, SP Mary Ubanga; Executive Secretary NCRIB, Fatai Adegbenro  at the event.

China requires 'absolute safety' in pension fund investment

China Daily

BEIJING - Absolute safety must be guaranteed as China considers diversifying its massive pension fund investments to bolster their value, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) said Tuesday. 

"The funding is used for retirees' daily lives and it cannot be jeopardized by big risks," MHRSS spokesman Li Zhong said at a press conference. 

In China, urban employees pay for their pension before retirement and usually get a pension equal to about half of their previous salary. 

Li said more than 2 trillion yuan ($327 billion) from the pension fund can be used for multifaceted investments. 

An official draft guideline released Monday gave the greenlight to invest in new channels, including the stock market, but restricts the maximum proportion of investments in stocks and equities to 30 percent of total net assets. 

The move comes amid concerns over the fund's low investment return in the past few years.

The 30-percent ceiling will not be reached in a short period of time and the key is the proper risk control, said Li. The fund will not handle its stock market investment directly, entrusting it to professional organizations. 

Money in the fund, roughly 90 percent of the country's total social security fund pool, was previously only allowed to be deposited in banks or invested in treasury bonds, which plays an important role in safeguarding its safety, but the investment channels are relatively restricted, said Li. 

The guideline stipulates that the fund can also be invested in the nation's big projects and key enterprise equities, but restricts the maximum proportion of such investments to 20 percent of total net assets. 

"The fund is confronted with the challenges of diminishing value, and it is not conducive to its sustainable development. It is in urgent need of widening investment channels," he stressed. 

The fund for retirees, which kicked off operation in the early 1990s, has aroused concerns as its annualized investment yield hovered as low as around 2 percent over the past several years, falling short of the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation. 

China's pension fund depreciated by nearly 100 billion yuan in the past 20 years taking inflation into account, said Zheng Bingwen, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

"Now is good timing for the fund to embrace market-oriented and diversified investments," Li said, adding that China is faced with mounting challenges from an aging society. 

The National Council for Social Security Fund (SSF), a social security strategic reserve for China's future aging population, played an exemplary role in enhancing its investment return, with its yearly ratio of return averaging 8.5 percent over the past 14 years as of 2014 and outpacing the CPI growth. 

The SSF, with assets of 1.24 trillion yuan in 2014, has a bigger investment scope than the pension fund and is allowed to invest in domestic and overseas stocks as well as fixed income assets. 

Unlike the SSF, the pension fund can only be allowed to invest in the domestic stock market, according to the guideline.

Mahama's Reshuffle Moves To The Banks ...Insurance & Financial Sector

Peace FM

Related Stories   Reliable information reaching The aL-hAJJ points to President John Dramani Mahama, in the coming days, announcing major restructuring of some public institutions, particularly those in the financial sector, as part of final major reshuffle of his administration in preparation for the crucial 2016 polls. This latest move, sources close to the presidency revealed to this paper, will see drastic changes at managerial levels of the Bank of Ghana, GCB, SIC Insurance Company Limited, adb, National Investment Bank, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) among others. The yet-to-be announced changes in the financial sector, a source at the seat of government noted, "is a continuation of His Excellency's ongoing restructuring exercise targeted at state-owned institutions to make them more viable." According to the source while heads of some of the state institutions to be affected would be retired, others will swap posts while the rest will be relieved of their duties. Already, intelligence report gleaned by this paper indicate that the Managing Director of GCB, Simon Dornoo, who has been on leave, is not likely to return to his post, "I can confirm to you that the MD for GCB will not return to his post after his leave," a source noted. Although the source fell short of mentioning who is likely to step into Simon Dornoo's shoes, grapevine sources points to a recently reshuffled Chief Executive of a strategic state institution taking over the running of the state wholly owned bank. President Mahama's impending restructuring of the state financial sector, according to The aL-hAJJ's dependable sources, could also see a renowned banker and Managing Director of a private bank, CAL Bank, Mr. Frank Adu Jnr heading a major state financial organization. The fate of embattled MD for adb, Stephen Kpordzih is not yet clear as the President and government are reported to be in dilemma as whether to grant the workers' demand to sack him and dissolve the governing board at this time, especially when the bank on its own has already embarked on massive restructuring and transformation. Our sources at the seat of government say the President and his advisers are of the view that adb at its present stage badly needed customers and investor confidence to enable it recapitalize as the it prepares to list on the stock exchange. "As a result of this, any uncalculated move at adb at this moment in time could jeopardize the bank's survival," a government source told this paper. Intelligence so far gathered by The aL-hAJJ has revealed that government is in talks with management and leaders of the bank's workers to allow the beleaguered Managing Director and board to move forward the ongoing transformation exercise, including successful listing on the stock exchange, expected in the coming weeks, before any further action is taken. In the case of SIC, SSNIT, NIB and others, sources say, "the changes there will not be different from what was witnessed few days ago at YEA, NHIA, NPRA, GIFEC etc. I can't tell which of the heads will swap positions, all I know is that the President will make changes at SIC, SSNIT, GCB, NIB among others." President John Mahama recently reshuffled a number of heads of public institutions and corporations. A statement from the Presidency said the head of the Youth Enterprise Authority (YEA) Kobby Acheampong has replaced Kofi Attoh at the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC). Former National Service Secretariat (NSS) boss, Vincent Kuagbenu replaces Kobby Acheampong at the YEA, formerly the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA). A former member of the Dzamefe Commission, Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko also replaced Laud Senanu as Chief Executive of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA). The Head of ICT at the National Identification Authority (NIA), Kwame Griffiths took over from Josiah Cobbah as head of the authority. At the National Communication’s Authority, NCA, the Director General of National Information Technology William Tevie replaced Paarock Van Percy whose term of office expired. A deputy Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Nathaniel Otoo replaced Sylvester Mensah as head of the institution. These changes, sources at the seat of government revealed, will be extended to state organizations in the financial sector to position the government for a 'showdown' in 2016.

Source: The aL-hAJJ

IRDA proposes 25% of unit-linked insurance funds be invested in government securities

The Economic Times

MUMBAI: The government may raid unit-linked insurance policies to pay for its expenditure, dealing a body blow to private sector insurance firms and thousands of investors who had bet heavily on the instrument for future planning. 

G-sec investment could lower returns for investors and force insurance firms like ICICI Prudential and HDFC Life to deliver lower returns. Valuations of these firms will be hit at a time when they are preparing to go to the market to raise money from investo .. 

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47888020.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

State tells insurers to limit co-pays for HIV/AIDS drugs

Supporters of civil rights for people living in Florida with HIV/AIDS are applauding the state Office of Insurance Regulation for warning insurance companies not to overcharge patients for drugs in their 2016 federal marketplace plans.

The notice, by Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, follows complaints last year by the Tampa-based AIDS Institute and National Health Law Program claiming that four health insurance companies were illegally grouping up to 30 AIDS treatment drugs into the highest and most-expensive co-insurance payment tier.

Florida's notice, sent to insurers in the spring, advised companies to be ready to explain why their pricing of HIV/AIDS medications is not "unfairly discriminatory" when they submit their 2016 health plan rates for state review. Discriminatory pricing, the notice said, could result in a recommendation for the plan's removal and decertification from the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

"Florida's law is unique in that it specifically prohibits limiting coverage for individuals with HIV or a specific medical condition resulting from HIV such as AIDS," said Amy Bogner, spokeswoman for the Office of Insurance Regulation, in an email.

Florida had 108,608 people living with HIV/AIDS at the end of April, according to the state Department of Health. Of those, 26,678 were in Broward and Palm Beach counties and 27,899 were in Miami-Dade.

According to the complaint filed with the federal Department of Health and Human Services by the AIDS Institute and National Health Law Program in May 2014, four insurers – Aetna, Humana, Cigna and Preferred Medical -- were placing drugs HIV and AIDS on high-percentage co-pay tiers that resulted in some patients paying as much as $1,000 a month.

By making those drugs so expensive, the companies were discouraging people with HIV/AIDS from enrolling in those plans and driving them to other plans that limited co-pays for the drugs to $70 or less, said Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of the AIDS Institute.

"I assume most patients went to other plans," Schmid said in an interview. "That's what we didn't want to happen. That's not fair to those plans" without the high co-pays.

The letter from Florida's insurance regulator to insurers outlined the benchmark plan that limits patient co-pays to between $40 and $150 for a month-long supply, except for an inject able drug with a $200 co-pay. A plan's drug pricing formula will be considered compliant if it's at least "as favorable as the state's benchmark plan," the letter to insurers stated.

In March, Aetna agreed to reduce co-pays for non-inject able drugs to no more than $100 after deductibles are met. Previously, Cigna entered a consent order with Florida regulators agreeing to move generic HIV drugs to a lower-cost tier and cap co-payments for four other drugs at $200 a month in 2015.

Humana and Preferred Medical entered into similar agreements with the state as well.

The AIDS Institute's Schmid said the Florida letter is important for two reasons. One is the state's intention to review plans for how they price all drugs, and not just HIV/AIDS drugs. Health plans are also charging high co-pays for drugs that cover a number of chronic illnesses, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and mental illness, he said.

Another reason is the letter cites the specific state law barring discrimination against patients who need HIV/AIDS drugs.

Bogner, the Office of Insurance Regulation spokeswoman, said that state law only protects discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients but that federal ACA regulations require states to look at pricing of all classes of drugs.

"This is big news for Florida," Schmid said. "Good news for anyone living with HIV in Florida and good news for anyone on medication in Florida."

rhurtibise@sun-sentinel.com, 954-856-5364