The ASEAN Reinsurance Working Committee (ARWC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in pledging support in the form of underwriting capacity as well as setting up the terms to the establishment of the ASEAN Renewable Energy Pool (AREP) under the supervision of ASEAN Insurance Council (AIC).

The ideation on the formation of AREP was initially proposed by Malaysian Reinsurance Berhad （Malaysian Re), Chair of the ARWC for the 2021-2022 term, during the 4th ARWC meeting on October 15, 2021 as a facility or pool to support the ASEAN governments’ renewable energy policies, Malaysian Re said in a statement on Friday.

“Given the potential challenges in respect of the capacity and expertise in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)/renewable energy and the complexity of the solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources, the inherent financial risk associated with these ventures can be potentially overwhelming for one insurance company to manage effectively,

“Therefore, there is a need for a group of companies to pool their resources and band together to form an insurance pool to underwrite the risks associated with these renewable energy sources” said Ahmad Noor Azhari Abdul Manaf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Re.

The MOU signed at the 26th ASEAN Insurance Regulators’ Meeting & 49th ASEAN Insurance Council Meeting indicates joint commitment from the participating ARWC Members under the supervision of AIC, to collaborate, work together and lead ASEAN (re)insurance industry to support ASEAN countries’ effort to achieve net zero emission target and deal effectively with climate change.

The participating ARWC Members for this collaboration are Malaysian Re (as Pool Manager), PT Reasuransi Indonesia Utama (Persero) (Indonesia Re), Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation(VINARE), Cambodian Reinsurance Company (Cambodia Re), Thai Reinsurance Public Company Limited(Thai Re) and National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines (Nat Re).

Malaysian Re is the largest national reinsurer (by gross written premium and asset) in the ASEAN region.

The reinsurer underwrites all classes of general reinsurance business as well as general and family retakaful businesses through its retakaful division.

Leveraging on its breadth and depth of experience and expertise, excellent ratings and proven record of accomplishment, Malaysian Re has grown in stature as an international player having established a strong market presence in Asia Pacific and the Middle East with an emerging footing in Europe.

Malaysian Re is a wholly owned subsidiary of MNRB Holdings Berhad (MNRB).

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