Singapore life insurance premiums up 14% to $689.23m in Q1

Linked policies led the charge after surging 82% in Q1.

Singapore’s life insurance industry opened the year on strong footing after weighted new business premiums rose 14% YoY to $689.23m (SG$925.1m) in Q1, according to a media release from the Life Insurance Association (LIA) Singapore. 

Robust growth was registered across the board but linked policies clocked in the largest demand after total weighted premiums ballooned 82% YoY to $154.97m (SG$208m) in Q1.

A total of $478.9m (SG$642.8m) in weighted annual premiums was registered during the first three months of the year which represents a 21% YoY increase. Single premium products also inched up 0.4% YoY to $210.32m (SG$282.3m).

The growth follows a report by LIA revealing that Singapore faces nearly $670b protection gap as the coverage of their insurance policies remain insufficient to adequately respond to their financial needs in the event of a critical illness and death.

“Whilst our Protection Gap Study 2017 found a persistent gap in the level of protection amount in Singapore, it is heartening to know that more people are taking actions to get better insured,” said Patrick Teow, president of Lia Singapore.

As of the first three months of the year, the uptake of policies rose 30% YoY to 6,631 policies in Q1 designed to provide regular payouts to policyholders during retirement years.

“Collectively, the life insurance industry will not only look at continuing ongoing public education efforts, we will also develop more targeted public engagement programmes based on insights from our follow-up qualitative study, so that we can help more individuals in Singapore better protect their loved ones, their future, and their quality of life,” Teow added.

The assets held by the life insurance industry in Singapore also grew 17% YoY to $151.17b (SG$202.9b) and employs over 7,500 individuals in Q1.