Bank Negara advice on how to avoid fraud

Saturday January 15, 2011

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara wants all insurance firms and relevant parties to be more vigilant and take heed of some of its pointers to combat insurance fraud. The menace, which is in the form of deception or dishonesty for unjustified financial gain, is committed at different points in the transaction by either an insurer, agent, policy owner or third party claimant, the central bank said.

Some examples of fraud include creating a fraudulent claim, overstating the amount of losses, misrepresenting facts to receive payment and bogus agents/sale of forged cover notes. The central bank said some of the pertinent pointers one has to take to protect oneself from insurance fraud are:

• Beware of any unregistered insurance agent offering his services. If in doubt, contact your insurance company or takaful operator or the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) or the Malaysia Takaful Association (MTA) to ensure the agent is an authorised one;
• Avoid paying premiums in cash. Choose to pay for premiums by cheque, money order or Internet payment to the insurance company or takaful operator directly;
• Do not sign a blank insurance or takaful proposal form, or insurance/ takaful claim form;
• Be suspicious if the benefits and price of insurance or takaful products offered by an agent seemed suspiciously favourable compared to products offered by other insurance companies or takaful operators;
• If you meet with an accident, be careful of strangers who offer quick cash or urge you to deal with specific workshops, medical clinic or law firm. They could be part of a fraud syndicate;
• Insist on detailed bills for repairs and medical services rendered and check for accuracy; and
• If you are being defrauded, have been or are being persuaded to take part in a fraud, contact your insurance company or takaful operator, PIAM/ LIAM/ MTA or the police.

 Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/15/starprobe/7806561&sec=starprobe

Islamic finance may double in assets by 2016-D.Bank

By Shaheen Pasha

DUBAI | Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:33am EST

Nov 15 (Reuters) - The global debt crisis may help Islamic finance nearly double to $1.8 trillion in assets by 2016 as stagnant corporate lending pushes institutions to seek alternative financing to traditional methods, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

The bank forecasts that there is over $2 trillion of deleveraging in the United States and Europe, creating a financing glut for both struggling countries and countries in developed markets. But the $50 billion Islamic bonds industry, which currently makes up only 1 percent overall debt issuance, is increasingly drawing issuers, providing significant fee income growth prospects for Islamic financial institutions.

Islamic bonds, or sukuk, issuances have dominated the Gulf region in recent months. In November alone, Bahrain and Indonesia mandated banks to issue sovereign sukuk while lenders such as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Al Hilal Bank, wholly-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, have also begun the process of issuing an Islamic bond.


Turkish banks have also emerged on the scene with sukuk issuances, providing Gulf investors with a means to diversify geographically. Islamic liquidity has also drawn interest from international players such as Goldman Sachs to create a $2 billion sukuk programme, following the success of HSBC Middle East's benchmark issue.


Deutsche Bank said the pipeline for foreign corporate issuance of sukuk could be strong going forward, given the fact that many European bluechips, struggling with the European debt crisis, are owned in part by Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds, creating opportunity to tap alternative funding.


"The Islamic credit market may represent a more feasible and shorter-term reality for the corporate space than for the sovereign space," said the report, led by Deutsche Bank analyst Ryan Ayache. But sukuk will not be the only driver of growth. Deutsche Bank expects that mortgage financing, particularly in Saudi Arabia which is facing a housing shortage, could provide $100 billion in assets to the overall industry.

Retail banking, project finance and Islamic trade finance are also expected to show significant growth as the global Muslim population grows and the gross domestic products (GDP) of Muslim countries outpace global GDP.

Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/15/islamic-growth-deutschebank-idUSL5E7MF1Q920111115

Joint Insurance-Takaful Council paves way for unified approach

Published: Monday September 26, 2011 MYT 3:16:00 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) Three insurance associations have entered into an agreement to form the Joint Insurance-Takaful Council (JITC), marking another milestone for the development of the insurance and takaful sectors in Malaysia.

The Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) in a joint statement today said it is in line with the objective to further liberalise and create harmonisation of the financial services sector, the JITC would foster a higher level of self-regulation of the industry.

The formation of the JITC will pave the way for a unified approach in ensuring consistency in rules, regulations and guidelines across the three sectors and resolve inter-sector complaints or disputes amicably.
Each association would be represented by three nominees at the JITC, the associations said.
PIAM, LIAM and MTA are the foremost associations that represents member companies in the general insurance, life insurance and takaful sectors respectively. - BERNAMA

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/26/business/20110926152720&sec=business