This represents that the market is bouncing back from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. As face-to-face meetings were banned due to the nature of the pandemic, many sales channels incurred heavy losses, especially agents.

Khor Hock Seng, LIA president told the media, “The strong showing of business results seen in the life insurance industry in the first half of this year reflects a level of stabilisation of Singapore’s economy from the immediate impact of Covid-19 in the first half of 2020. The growth in uptake of life insurance also seems to show that more people are placing greater importance on providing for their long-term financial and healthcare needs in the midst of an evolving pandemic environment.”

The main growth driver was single product premium which recorded a 106 percent year-on-year increase in weighted premiums, amounting to SG$1.28 billion. Additionally, single premium par and non-par products accounted for 84 percent of all single premium purchases and single premium-linked products made up for the remaining 16 percent.

Annual premium products also increased by 35 percent and added another SG$1.4 billion in weighted annual premiums. The insurance company also noted that the number of policies purchased online also increased as the business started working remotely due to the pandemic. During the first six months of 2021, 203,351 policies were bought online, compared to 2,952 policies from the first half of 2020.

The total new business premiums for individual health insurance amounted to SG$176.8 million and the uptake of retirement products also saw an increase of 34 percent with 22,137 policies bought in the first half.

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Prior to the upheaval that began in June last year, life insurance services were being sold like hot cakes to Chinese tourists from the mainland in Hong Kong. It was also the preferred way for policy holders to get their money out of China.

AIA and Prudential, two of the leading life insurance companies in Hong Kong, were obtaining nearly 60 percent of their revenues from mainland Chinese tourists, who have to be present in person to purchase insurance in the city.

Quoting Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority, the Financial Times reported that the value of new life insurance products taken out by people in China witnessed an 18 percent drop to HK$1.2 billion in those three months till September last year.

And, in last November, the tourist footfalls from the Chinese mainland fell by 60 percent year-on-year. Financial experts have warned that the market has declined even more as the revolts have led to an increase in the anti-China mood that is already exists in the region.

According to Frank Yuen, senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, Chinese customers are vital to the insurance sector of Hong Kong. He said that but for the uprising, the year 2020 should be another great year.

The report further stated that to offset the decline in the number of tourists arriving in Hong Kong owing to the strife, many insurance firms have begun to bring customers by bus from the mainland to regions of Hong Kong that have remained immune to the unrest. This is being done to nullify the apprehensions expressed by tourists regarding their safety.

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According to a report published in the Viet Nam News, the local insurers are also endeavouring to augment their overall assets by 13.3 percent year-on-year to VND514.80 trillion, while reinvesting into the economy VND433.06 trillion, or 15.1 percent more than last year.

Phạm Thu Phương, deputy director of ISA, revealed that the organisation would carry on the process of enhancing its mechanisms and guidelines, in a bid to attain its benchmarks.

He added that the ISA will concentrate on revamping to enable the insurance market grow transparently, safely and successfully in compliance with globally accepted standards.

Phuong went on to say that the ISA will concentrate all its resources especially towards the accomplishment of the amended Law on Insurance Business, and also on policies to monitor the execution of the law such that it fully adheres to the country’s socio-economic development frameworks and international regulations.

As per the report, Vietnam has one of the world’s lowest life insurance penetration levels at less than 1 percent of its GDP. The typical insurance premium in Vietnam is at $30, which is way beneath the worldwide average of $595 and the Southeast Asian average of $74.

ISA monitors an overall of 66 insurance organisations, which sell over 850 non-life insurance schemes and 450 life insurance policies.

In an attempt to boost the market and enhance the standards of insurance services, ISA is contemplating to urge the Ministry of Finance to grant licences to overseas investors in insurance and re-insurance to operate in the country.

Phuong concluded by saying that the agency will join hands with related other entities to analyse and utilise other latest insurance products this year, apart from utilising agricultural products as suggested by insurers.

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According to reports, the Malaysian central bank believes the merger of AmGeneral and Allianz would have created an entity which would prove to be too large for the country’s insurance sector.

Experts believe, despite merger talks with Allianz being called off, AmGeneral Insurance remains an attractive asset for AmBank Group to unlock. This is mainly due to AmGeneral being Malaysia’s second-largest motor insurer with a market share of 15 percent and the third largest general insurer with a market share of 8.6 percent.

AmGeneral Insurance has more than two million customers and four million policies.

Many also predict more mergers and acquisitions to follow in the insurance sector due to Malaysia’s liberal stance with regard to foreign ownership in the insurance sector.

In the month of July, RHB Bank announced that Bank Negara had granted it a time period of six-months to negotiate a deal to sell up to 94.7 percent of its general insurance business to Tokio Marine.

Earlier this month, it was reported that France-based insurer AXA and its local partner Affin Bank are considering a potential sale of their life and general insurance business in Malaysia for around $650 million.

Recently, Allianz signed a deal with Malaysia-based solar system installer and service provider Solarvest.
According to the deal, Allianz General and its agency partner, Anora, will protect Solarvest’s business, assets, and projects with its range of insurance solutions.

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