WEALTH

OPENING BELL
BRIGITTE MIKSA
Head of International Pensions
CHANGING DYNAMICS
“The first wealth is health,” claimed American poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is a sentiment that many in the rapidly
growing economic region of Asia can share
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Despite increasing riches, many people are
realizing that wealth is a poor substitute for
good health. Increasingly, as Asia develops, it is
adopting the disease profile of the West.
Sickness and death by communicable diseases,
such as cholera and typhoid, are giving
way to those caused by non-communicable
diseases (NCDs), such as cancers, heart disease
and diabetes.
This is partially a good-news story. The
diseases and pestilences that killed people at
an early age are being subdued, which is
allowing Asians to enjoy the benefits of a ripe
older age. But as societies in the region grow
older, their populations are increasingly
succumbing to the chronic diseases that
cause so much pain, suffering and death in
the developed world.
The shame of it is that much of this is
preventable. Unhealthy diets, lack of physical
exercise, tobacco use and harmful drinking,
all greatly increase the risk of NCDs. The
Western world is still grappling with how to
combat this growing plague, but for Asia the
matter is assuming ever greater urgency. The
region is aging at the fastest rate in history
and, consequently, undergoing the fastest
epidemiological transition as well.
This will place healthcare systems still
grappling with the implementation of social
care under increasing pressure. Urgency,
flexibility and creativity will be required to
tackle NCDs, so that in the next decades
billions of people can benefit through longer,
higher-quality lives.
Insurance will also play an important role
in this. The growing Asian middle class, which
will be the key driver of global consumption
in the future, will see health insurance as an
important purchase, along with consumer
goods and education. But for it to meet the
needs of clients in Asia, insurance will need to
develop new models and new delivery methods,
some of which we explore in this edition.
Yours sincerely,
Brigitte Miksa, September 2016
Allianz • 3