Hong Kong insurers post weaker 2024 as premiums slip

This is based on the recent data released by the Insurance Authority for the 2024 fiscal year.

Hong Kong’s 50 biggest insurers posted weaker results in 2024, with total premiums declining as softer savings inflows and tougher competition weighed on the market, even as demand for protection and wealth products held up.

Premiums among the top 50 insurers fell 2.5% year on year to $77.4b (HK$605.2b) from 2023, according to the 2024 Hong Kong Insurance Rankings compiled by the magazine using data from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority.

For the overall market, gross premiums slipped 1.9% to $81.2b (HK$635.2b).

Life insurance remained the biggest segment, accounting for 42% of total premiums. They filled the top 10 spots in the rankings, and all but one posted growth despite the broader decline.

AIA International Ltd. led the list, with premiums rising 1.3% to $11.3b (HK$88.2b). Manulife (International) Ltd. followed, posting 50.9% growth, whilst Prudential Hong Kong Ltd. ranked third with a 5.2% increase.

HSBC Life (International) Ltd. took fourth place after expanding 18.3%, and China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Ltd. came in fifth with 4.6% growth.

Hang Seng Insurance Company Ltd. and BOC Group Life Assurance Company Ltd. posted gains of 50.4% and 22.9%, respectively, whilst FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Ltd. rose 24.1% to secure the eighth spot.

AXA China Region Insurance Company Ltd. at No. 9 was the only company in the top 10 to post a decline, with premiums falling 10.9%.
Sun Life Hong Kong Ltd. ranked 10th and delivered the strongest growth among the group, with premiums climbing 51.1% to

$2.6b (HK$20.2b).

Despite the overall drop in premiums, leading insurers said underlying demand remained firm heading into 2025 and 2026.
Ken Lau, managing director of Greater China and Hong Kong CEO at FWD, said the company kept strong momentum in 2024, supported by expansion in both local and offshore markets.

Provisional data from the regulator for the first three quarters of 2025 showed FWD Hong Kong’s new business first-year premium jumping 93%, whilst annual premium equivalent increased 74% from a year earlier, compared with 43% growth for the industry over the same period, Lau said.

FWD’s “dual-focus approach,” which centred around the local market whilst seizing opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, made this possible, Lau said in an emailed reply to questions.

Sun Life Hong Kong also pointed to product development and distribution strength. CEO Clement Lam said results were driven by a focus on high-net-worth clients and a multi-channel approach, including its exclusive bancassurance partnership with Dah Sing Bank.

The insurer led the brokerage channel with an annual premium equivalent of $741.5m (HK$5.8b) and 90% growth across distribution channels.

For the first three quarters of 2025, annualised premium equivalent exceeded $1.1b (HK$8.4b), up 30% year on year, with Sun Life maintaining its top position in broker sales.

“The introduction of Hong Kong’s first indexed universal life insurance for professional investors in May further expanded our high-net-worth client business,” Lam said in an emailed reply to questions.

Lam said he remains optimistic about Hong Kong’s insurance market. “We see balanced opportunities across the high-net-worth segment, with growing demand for retirement planning, wealth preservation, and cross-border mobility,” he said.

He added that demand for savings, healthcare and retirement products is likely to grow steadily in the coming year.

Below is the table of the Hong Kong Insurance Rankings* 2025:

*Note that this year's edition is not comparable with the previous year's edition. Gross premiums were gathered from the Insurance Authority's annual data for both long-term/life and general insurance business. The table ranks data for the annual year 2024 against 2023.