Solvency sanctuary?

Asian insurance companies have sat up and paid attention to their solvency ratios during the past two years like never before. This has led to unprecedented levels of derivatives take-up. But will this conversion to derivatives last?

The wild equity and bond market price swings in 2008 and early 2009 left the solvency ratios of many insurance companies in the region in tatters, as asset portfolios devalued and low interest rates made liabilities expensive. Regulators in some jurisdictions began to ask for weekly reports on solvency positions and, as capital positions looked precarious, the threat of government takeovers loomed (as happened to two small Taiwanese insurers, Walsun Insurance and Kuo Hua Life Insurance in