This week in Insurance: Meiji Yasuda’s $2.3b deal, Allianz eyes RAC, and regional growth gains

Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines recorded positive market growths.

Asia-Pacific’s insurance sector from 10 to 14 February saw big merger and acquisition updates alongside positive growth trends from market statistics revealed the past week.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company plans to acquire Legal & General America, Inc. (LGA) and its US subsidiary, Banner Life, for $2.3b. As part of the deal, Meiji Yasuda will also acquire a 5% stake in Legal & General Group Plc.

The company expects this acquisition to double its overseas insurance premiums to over $6.6b (¥1t) and increase core profits to more than $660m (¥100b) from the pre-acquisition figure of $603.24m (¥91.4b). 

According to a report by Fitch Ratings, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance's acquisition of Legal & General America (LGA) is expected to enhance its credit profile and global diversification.

Meanwhile, Allianz SE and Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG) are considering bids for the insurance business of the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC), according to sources familiar with the matter, reported Bloomberg.

Prudential also announced that it is assessing a possible listing of India-based ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited, which would involve a partial divestment of its shares. 

On investments, insurance investors expect to increase their allocations abroad this year, with over half (53%) planning to do so, according to Aviva Investor’s private markets study 2025 released on Monday. 

Region-wide (Asia-Pacific), 64% of investors will likely increase their allocations outside of their local market, particularly in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

A few market statistics were also released last week. Taiwan insurers, for example, nearly quadrupled (248.1%) their December 2024 earnings to $10.3b (NT$341.5b), with life insurers contributing 92.4% of the total profits, data from the Insurance Bureau showed.

Singapore’s life insurance industry recorded a 19.7% year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2024, with total weighted new business premiums reaching $4.34b (S$5.87b) for the year, according to the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore). 

The increase was primarily driven by higher demand for annual premium products. 

Additionally, the Philippine insurance industry’s insurance penetration, which measures premiums as a percentage of GDP, improved by 0.06 percentage points to 1.67%, reflecting the faster growth of insurance premiums compared to the economy’s 8.84% expansion at current prices, data from the Insurance Commission showed. 

Overall, its fourth quarter (Q4 2024) total premiums climbed 12.81% YoY.