Life Insurance in Asia, Second Edition: Sustaining Growth in the Next Decade -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- What Is New in This Second Edition? -- Chapter 1: Emerging Themes in Asia -- A New Paradigm -- Asia as the Emerging Powerhouse in Insurance -- Solid Fundamentals Supporting Growth -- A Shift toward Quality -- A Heated Battle between Multinationals and Locals -- Multinationals in Asia: Survival of the Fittest -- The Coming-of-Age of the Asian Insurer -- The Changing Face of Distribution -- Agency: The End of an Era? -- The Bancassurance Revolution -- Growth of Third-Party Distributors and the Direct Channel -- Driving Innovation in Insurance -- Asian Consumers Moving Online -- Rapid Pace of Technological Development -- An Opportunity for Insurers to Innovate -- Changing Product Mix to New Needs of Asian Consumers -- Investment-linked Products: Managing the Cyclicality -- Protection Products: Closing the Gap -- Annuities and Retirement Products: Pockets of Growth -- Health Insurance: Potential for Private Insurers to Play a Greater Role -- Takaful (Islamic Insurance): Continued Rapid Growth -- Conclusion -- Chapter 2: China: Yes, Size Does Matter -- A Winding Road to the Top -- Rise of the Chinese Giants -- Foreign Multinationals in China: Scaling the Great Wall -- Key Challenges to Overcome in China -- Tied Agency: Transforming the Traditional Model -- Bancassurance: Extracting Value from the Relationship -- Addressing Diversifying Customer Needs -- The Future: Growth in Uncertainty -- Chapter 3: India: Dance of the Elephant -- Dawn of a New Era -- Near-term Slowdown, but Attractive Growth Prospects over the Medium-to-Long Term -- Shift toward Long-term Savings and Protection -- Need to Focus on Value Creation -- Changing Landscape of the Life Insurance Market -- Continued Regulatory Changes.

Shifts in Consumer Behavior -- Digital Revolution -- Intensifying Competition Ahead -- Path to Sustainable Growth in the New Normal -- Revamping the Agency Force -- Responding to the Bancassurance Discontinuity -- Developing Alternative Distribution Models -- Shift toward a More Balanced Product Portfolio -- Managing the Large Geographic Expanse -- Driving Breakthrough Innovations through Technology -- Capturing Value from Existing Customers -- The Future: India Life Insurance 2.0 -- Chapter 4: Japan: A Giant Awakening? -- Continued Stagnation in the Overall Market -- Lack of Economic Growth -- Shrinking Addressable Market -- Saturated Insurance Market -- Shifting Competitive Landscape -- Slow Decline of the Japanese Incumbents -- Giants Awakening? -- Consolidation of Select Foreign Players -- Emerging Opportunities in Certain Product Submarkets -- Health and Medical Insurance -- The Retirement Opportunity -- Individual Annuities -- Increasing Scope for Innovative Sales Models -- Professionalization of the Agency Channel -- Bancassurance Deregulation and Japan Post Privatization -- Emergence of Direct, Multichannel, and Internet Distribution -- The Future -- Chapter 5: South Korea and Taiwan: An Increasingly Localized Game -- Highly Mature Markets -- Mismatched Book of Assets and Liabilities -- Entrenched Position of Leading Domestic Players -- Foreign Players Fighting to Gain Share from Local Incumbents -- South Korea: Solid and Resilient -- Domestic Insurers: Solidifying Market Positions -- Large Retirement Opportunity -- Bancassurance as the Dominant Channel -- Emergence of Independent and Direct Channels -- The Future -- Taiwan: Darkness before Dawn? -- Surprising Economic and Insurance Premium Growth -- A Challenging Market to Navigate -- Changing Dynamics with an Exodus of Foreign Players.

Domestic Players Saddled with Large Negative Spread Portfolios -- The Future -- Chapter 6: Hong Kong and Singapore: Refusing to Mature -- Profitable and High-Growth Contributor -- Small but Stable Market for Latecomers -- Attractive Asian Base for Multinational Insurers -- Hong Kong: The China Opportunity Offshore -- Continued Strong Growth -- Channel Segregation between Agency, Bancassurance, and Broker -- Intensifying Competition between Traditional and Bank-owned Insurers -- The Future -- Singapore: Structured and Profitable -- Active Management by the Singaporean Government -- Prominent Role of Central Provident Fund -- Shift toward Multichannel and Independent Distribution -- The Future -- Chapter 7: Southeast Asia: The Underappreciated Growth Engine -- Increasing Competition between Foreign and Local Players -- Tailored Products for Market Niches -- Channel Upgrades to Reach More Customer Segments -- The Future: Reaching Scale -- Indonesia: The Next Growth Frontier -- The Most Favorable Macrofundamentals in Southeast Asia -- Agency and Bancassurance Both Experiencing Explosive Growth -- Investment-linked and Takaful Products Dominate -- Foreign Players Capturing Much of the Market Growth -- Looking Ahead -- Vietnam: Little China? -- Underdeveloped Life Insurance Industry -- Fierce Competition in a Very Young Market -- Simple Products Sold through Traditional Channels -- Looking Forward: Major Challenges Ahead -- Chapter 8: The Road Ahead: A New Paradigm for Life Insurance in Asia -- Changing Context: A Much More Difficult and Nuanced World -- Seven Priorities for Winners -- Priority 1: Value-based Management -- Priority 2: Ensuring a Sustainable Agency Model -- Priority 3: Finding Value in Bancassurance Relationships -- Priority 4: Tapping into Asia's Affluent Middle Class -- Priority 5: Embracing Innovation and New Technologies.

Priority 6: Revamping Investment Management -- Priority 7: Engage in Inorganic M&A Opportunities -- Sustaining Growth in the Next Decade -- Appendix -- Reference Sources -- Methodology -- Notes -- Chapter 1: Emerging Themes in Asia -- Chapter 2: China: Yes, Size Does Matter -- Chapter 3: India: Dance of the Elephant -- Chapter 4: Japan: A Giant Awakening? -- Chapter 5: South Korea and Taiwan -- Chapter 6: Hong Kong and Singapore -- Chapter 7: Southeast Asia -- Index.