News in nu mbers

547,000

The number of Bupa customers whose information was put on the dark web to be sold. The compromised information included names, dates-of-birth, email addresses, and nationality.

The breach was discovered by Bupa in June 2017 by an external partner who saw the data up for sale. Overall, 198 complaints were sent to the healthcare company and to the ICO. Following the reveal, the employee responsible was arrested. In addition, Bupa was fined £175,000 ($228,300).

$1.55 billion

Nestlé has agreed to sell its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Gerber Life Insurance Company to Western & Southern Financial Group in a cash deal valued at $1.55bn.

The life insurer has over 500 associates in its White Plains, New York headquarters, and operations centre in Fremont, Michigan. Plans are on to retain all employees of the acquired entity.

The deal is anticipated to be wrapped up later this year or early next year, subject to regulatory approvals.

60%

According to a survey from Willis Re, over 60% of insurance firms expect to be hit by cyber crime in the next year.

The study also revealed a rise in the silent cyber exposure of other liability, with 62% citing the silent cyber risk factor in this area to be above 1.01 in 2018. The figure represents a surge from last year, when 35% held a similar stance.

$5.6 billion

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) has agreed to acquire UK-based insurance and reinsurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) in a deal worth around $5.6bn.

As per the agreed terms of the transaction, JLT shareholders will be entitled to receive a cash payment of £19.15 per share.

As part of the deal, JLT group CEO Dominic Burke will become vice chairman at MMC. Burke will also join MMC’s executive committee.

The deal already secured the green light from the two companies’ boards. It is expected to be completed early next year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

OTHER NEWS

Insurtech adoption still at a nascent stage

Even though insurers across the globe acknowledge the value of insurtech, very few actually adopt it. This is according to a survey by insurance fraud detection technology provider FRISS.

Of insurers polled in the Digital Transformation in Insurance Survey 2018, 88% were convinced that insurtech adoption offers great opportunities. Moreover, half were found working on insurtech apps or conducting experiments with the apps.

However, only 19% of insurers were found already investing in insurtech.

The study also revealed blockchain in an early development stage in the insurance sector, with only 2% found actually started with the technology.

Digital insurance venture Blue launched

Blue, the joint venture between Aviva, Hillhouse Capital, and Tencent, has launched.

Intended to shake up the insurance market in Hong Kong, Blue digital insurance is easy-to-use and has zero commission.

Hong Kong customers are now able to buy term life and critical illness products directly online. Blue is the first platform of its kind in the market and is suited to customers wanting to take charge of their own insurance protection.

In addition, the Blue digital insurance process is digital with no complicated processes or lengthy paperwork.