In the News

Fraud in insurance - Staying one step ahead
August 2023
Fraud is a perennial issue for insurers, albeit a manageable one. Fraud attempts continue to become more sophisticated, but insurers manage to stay ahead of the curve. QBE's Mr. Ronak Shah tells us more.  

Mitigating risks in lithium-ion batteries
August 2023
With the growing use of lithium-ion batteries in commercial and industrial environments, associated risks have also grown. Asia Insurance Review spoke with QBE Insurance’s Mr. Brendan Dunlea about how these risks can be mitigated.

Asia pushing towards further digitalisation, deep tech – QBE Asia CEO, Jason Hammond
January 2023
As the industry emerges from the past three years defined by the COVID-10 pandemic, QBE Asia CEO Jason Hammond shared with Insurance Business several milestones in 2022 and his predictions for 2023.

Australian insurer QBE expanding coverage to include net-zero maritime projects in Singapore
July 2022
Rama Chandran, Head of Marine, QBE Asia shared how QBE is working with ship builders in Asia to adopt green technologies and explore new power sources.

Australian insurer QBE expanding coverage to include net-zero maritime projects in Singapore
July 2022
Rama Chandran, Head of Marine, QBE Asia shared how QBE is working with ship builders in Asia to adopt green technologies and explore new power sources.

Asia CEO, Jason Hammond, named in The Insurance Business Global 100 list for the third consecutive year
March 2022
Asia CEO, Jason Hammond, is named in The Insurance Business Global 100 list for the third consecutive year. The list features outstanding industry professionals and leaders who are making a positive difference and helping drive change across the sector and their own companies.

The 2Cs of FP&A leadership in 2022
February 2022
Tay Siang Leng, CFO and head of FP&A for QBE Asia, summed it up by adding that the biggest change is the need to respond quickly to rapidly changing economic conditions/business challenges as well as being the co-pilot to senior management and Boards for strategic decision making.

A look back at 2021
January 2022
Ronak Shah, QBE Singapore CEO, shared with Insurance Business Asia his perspectives on the Singapore insurance industry, as well as his expectations and predictions for the near future.

Top insurance risks in 2022
January 2022
Amid the global roll out of vaccinations against COVID-19, 2021 saw the world enter the early stages of learning to live with the pandemic – adjusting to the fast-evolving situation with relative ease and acceptance. Ronak Shah, QBE Singapore CEO and President of GIA Singapore shares with Asia Insurance Review about the new and emerging risks associated with a world that is working towards living with an endemic virus.

QBE Insurance wins big for innovative insurance plan at SBR Management Excellence Awards
December 2021
Its engineering risk cover for Singapore’s largest floating solar farm landed QBE Singapore the award.

Global Risk Manger – Hard times
October 2021
Global Risk Manger spoke with QBE Asia, Chief Underwriting Officer, Andy White on how the market has had a global impact, but in Asia it is a mixed picture, with some classes seeing price increases and others like liability remaining relatively flat.

Insurance for ecommerce retailer liability 
October 2021
Asia Insurance Review spoke to with QBE Asia’s Ms Arati Varma and Somandy and Associates’ Mr Burzin Somandy to see whether ecommerce retailers can be liable for third party products sold via their platforms - and how insurance may help in such cases.

Shipping: Too soon for optimism in ocean hull insurance sector - IUMI
September 2021
Overall, the ocean hull sector is improving but it is not yet certain how sustainable that improvement will be, according to Mr Rama Chandran, chairperson of the Ocean Hull Committee of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

Gloomy insurers look to 'virtuous circle' of loss prevention
September 2021
Marine insurers find little to be cheerful about these days. Rama Chandran, chairperson of the Ocean Hull Committee of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) expressed concern over the long-term sustainability of the hull and machinery insurance sector.

Processing insights into results
September 2021
Steve Wilson, Regional Head of Claims, QBE Asia shares how our claims processes continue to get more streamlined and sophisticated and how this has changed our business. 

Insurers tighten cyber cover terms, raise premiums amid cyber attacks
June 2021
Firms with inadequate risk management protocols may find their cover reduces or withdrawn altogether, particularly in terms of ransomware risk. QBE Asia, Head of Financial, Professional and Casualty lines, Arati Varma, said around 40 per cent of large organisations are believed to buy cyber protection. But take-up among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is far lower. 

Learning to live with a pandemic
June 2021
Singapore’s general insurance sector has remained stable over the last year, despite the pandemic’s impact. Asia Insurance Review spoke with Ronak Shah, CEO, QBE Insurance Singapore, on learning how to live with a pandemic as COVID-19 has created a varied effect on businesses.

QBE Singapore CEO Ronak Shah looks back at challenging year
January 2021
Insurance Business spoke with Ronak Shah, CEO of QBE Insurance Singapore, on how the general insurer weathered the challenges of 2020 and what he expects for 2021.

QBE Asia builds digital footprint with new insurance initiatives
December 2020
Today’s “no-contact” pandemic has challenged businesses to find ways to continue operating and supporting customers, without the need for physical interaction. This has created an urgency for businesses and industries—many of which have operated unchanged for decades—to digitalise their operations quickly and effectively to ensure business continuity.

Importance of SME Insurance in Singapore in the post-COVID world
December 2020
Head of SME/Consumer & eBusiness (Underwriting), Goh Shun Quan shared in a recent Entrepreneur's Digest article on the importance of SME Insurance in Singapore in the post-COVID world. COVID-19 pandemic has created unique business and social challenges. Businesses have had to find ways to survive the worst economic impacts in the immediate term, but also create the resilience to thrive in a post-pandemic economy. A critical tool in enabling this has been digitalisation, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) quickly turning to technology and digital services to find new ways to reach and sell to customers and clients. 

This article was first published in Entrepreneurs' Digest issue 94

An emphasis on digital
December 2020
QBE has had a good year, despite COVID-19 hitting the business hard. Asia CEO, Jason Hammond shares with Asia Insurance Review about QBE’s plans for the post-COVID environment with an emphasis on digitalisation.

Rama Chandran, Head of Marine Singapore and Head of Hull & Marine Liability Asia, named Top 10 in Lloyd's List for Marine Insurance
December 2020
Asia is catching up fast in hull insurance and leading the way in its emergence is Rama Chandran, head of marine at QBE.

Asia CEO, Jason Hammond, named in The Insurance Business Global 100 list for the second consecutive year
October 2020
Asia CEO, Jason Hammond, who has been named in The Insurance Business Global 100 list for the second consecutive year. The list features outstanding industry professionals and leaders who are making a positive difference and helping drive change across the sector and their own companies.

QBE Singapore secures award for excellent digital capability
October 2020
QBE Singapore has picked up the Digital Capability Award at the annual Australian Chamber of Commerce Singapore (AustCham) business awards for 2020. The event, which was held virtually, aims to celebrate the achievements of businesses and individuals leading in their field.

Pandemic a ‘catalyst’ for innovation – QBE Singapore CEO
October 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge changes in how life is lived, and businesses have been forced to adapt in order to ensure survival. Necessity is the mother of invention, as the adage goes. According to Ronak Shah, CEO of QBE Singapore, the pandemic has accelerated the insurance industry’s direction towards further digitalisation.

QBE Singapore wins the inaugural Digital Capability Award 2020
October 2020
Both of QBE Singapore’s digital initiatives – e-Despatch and e-Claims have clinched the Digital Capability Award from AustCham Business Awards 2020. “In an ever-changing business landscape, businesses have to continuously innovate and evolve to meet the needs of their customers and their operating environments. At QBE Singapore, we have asked ourselves what will our staff, partners and customers need the most in their insurance journey and we have devised these two digital initiatives which are in line with our drive towards digital transformation,” said Ronak Shah, Chief Executive Officer for QBE Singapore.

Securities Class Action Risk in South East Asia’ co-authored by QBE Asia, Head of Financial, Professional and Casualty Lines, Arati Varma
October 2020
South East Asia is a very diverse group of countries – from its language and customary practices, legal frameworks to its regulatory oversight. This article gives a high-level review of some of the common issues affecting securities collective actions across the region. In summary, South-East Asia remains a low-risk region for securities class actions for the reasons outlined. However, directors and their insurers should not be complacent and ignore the risk of exposure to US class actions.

QBE’s Hammond on transformation and growth
July 2020
CEO Asia, Jason Hammond, recently spoke with Insurance Asia News and shared about the restructuring process and transformation, and his outlook on the Asian markets’ growth opportunities, broker consolidation and the rise of digital and insurtech in the post-Covid environment.

IMO 2020 - 100 days amidst the Pandemic
June 2020
Head of Marine for Singapore and Head of Hull & Marine Liability for Asia, Rama Chandran shared an update in the June issue of IUMI's (International Union of Marine Insurance) newsletter on the implementation status of IMO 2020 since coming into effect. As the IUMI Ocean Hull Committee Chair, Rama and his committee will continue to monitor the impact of low sulphur fuels on engine and machinery claims in the near future.

COVID-19 insights from insurance and risk leaders in Asia Pacific: "Cohesion & Positivity" by QBE Asia CEO, Jason Hammond
June 2020
CEO Asia, Jason Hammond shared his insights on ensuring business continuity and being there for customers, partners, employees and the community during these challenging times.

 
Discussion on climate change increases - QBE research
March 11, 2020
A growing number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are seeing the relevance of the impacts of climate change on their businesses, according to the fifth edition of QBE Insurance's annual survey of Singapore SMEs.
 
March 11, 2020
Despite economic headwinds, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore remain eager to expand and were more optimistic than the previous year, according to the fifth annual SME survey by QBE.
 
March 10, 2020
Even as SMEs in Singapore seek to broaden their businesses in an increasingly digital and data-driven economy, many remain unprepared to handle common business risks associated with the use of technology, according to the fifth edition of QBE Insurance's annual survey of Singapore SMEs.
 
March 10, 2020
Singapore’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still hesitant to adopt digital technology and lack action in strengthening their business’s infrastructure, despite an increasingly digitised economy. That is according to the fifth edition of QBE Insurance’s annual survey of Singapore SMEs, which found that while SMEs are keen to digitalise, over four in 10 (41%) cited high investment costs as the main deterrent.
 
March 9, 2020
Businesses stated that they are still unprepared to face common tech risks. Around half or 41% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stated that high investment costs is their top barrier for digitising, according to a QBE survey. They also noted that SMEs have been adopting digitised means at a slower pace.
 
March 9, 2020
Apprehension about digitalisation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore is causing them to fall behind in terms of preparedness for the future digital economy, a survey by QBE Insurance Singapore has found.
 
September 20, 2019
Almost 30 per cent of workplace injuries in Singapore over the past four years have been the result of slips, trips and falls (STF), with more than 3,000 employees affected annually during that period. In addition, there were over 1,800 STF-related injuries in the first half of 2019, up around 6 per cent from over 1,700 cases in the same period last year. These were the statistics revealed by Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Zaqy Mohamad at the Workplace Safety and Health Forum on Kitchen Safety last month. Jason Hammond, CEO of QBE Asia and Singapore joins us today to share what can be done.
 
August 30, 2019
Consumers are largely on board the digital payments train but business, particularly business-centric small and medium enterprises (SMEs), seem to need a bigger push to go entirely cashless or cheque-free. In January, a survey of close to 500 local SMEs by QBE Insurance also found that about a quarter of them still prefer traditional payment methods like cash and cheques. Much of the feet-dragging may lie in using cheques as a means of managing cashflow and a perception that digital payments are more open to fraud, accordingly to some business-to-business (B2B) SMEs and industry experts.
 
April 23, 2018
Two observers from the insurance industry discuss the impact of autonomous vehicles on liability, responsibility and insurance premiums.
 
April 1, 2018
Even in a world characterised by rapidly changing technologies, the traditional method of maritime shipping continues to serve as an important conduit for trade and business. It has been the backbone of globalisation and lies at the heart of cross-border transport networks that support supply chains and enable goods to move between countries. Insurance coverage helps protects shippers who experience loss or setbacks by apportioning resources collected from the wider community of shipowners to those that have a genuine need for it, and is thus a safety net for shipowners to rely on.
 
March 1, 2018
QBE SME survey shows only 14% of local SMEs intend to internationalise. Half of all local SMEs are held back from expansion by concerns around sufficient financing and familiarity with other markets. Almost half of Singaporean SMEs have no interest in internationalising and taking their business beyond Singapore in the near future.
 
January 31, 2018
While local SMEs may not yet feel ready to capitalise on growth prospects in new markets, 44 per cent are expecting an increase in sales in the next 12 months, up from 40 per cent in the previous year, the survey found.
 
December 1, 2017
Changes to the Workplace Safety and Health Act have set the tone for ambitious workplace safety and health targets. Insurers should rise to the occasion, says QBE chief executive officer.
 
December 1, 2016
With more than a third of SMEs having a generally grim economic view on both sales and profitability for the next 12 months, almost 10% of smaller small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore still do not carry any insurance to mitigate such risks. A survey of local SMEs by global insurer QBE, also found that more than half of the companies polled are content to operate with only the most basic, mandated levels of insurance.
 
July 27, 2015
Transfer of QBE Insurance (International) Limited to QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd
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