How much did Singapore’s life insurers pay out in H1 2025?

Investment-linked products made up 43% of new sales in the period.

Singapore’s life insurance industry paid out $5.0b (S$6.35b) to policyholders and beneficiaries in the first half of 2025 (H1 2025), down 42.1% year-on-year (YoY), according to the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore).

Of this, $4.1b (S$5.32b) was for maturing policies, whilst $0.8b (S$1.03b) covered death, critical illness, or disability claims across more than 10,900 policies.

Investment-linked products gained ground, making up 43% of new sales in the period, compared to 35% a year earlier.

Participating products accounted for 24% of new sales, whilst non-participating products made up 33%.

By distribution, bank representatives contributed 35.5% of weighted new premiums, tied representatives 27.8%, and FA representatives 33.3%.

Online direct sales made up 1.4%, though they accounted for 11.5% of policies sold.

As of 30 June 2025, insurers with “Normal” licenses generated 99% of new sales, whilst “Defined Market Segment” players contributed 1%.

Employment in the sector remained steady, with 9,493 staff, down 1% from a year earlier.

A further 12,197 FA representatives were tied to companies operating agency forces.

Overall, the industry posted $2.33b (S$2.99b) in weighted new business premiums for H1 2025, up 7.7% from the same period last year.

($1.00 = S$1.29)