Chart of the Day: How willing are Singaporeans to buy insurance from newcomers?

Consumers in Malaysia, China and Indonesia are more open than Singaporeans.

Despite the proliferation of insurtech firms in the city state, only 70% of Singaporean customers have expressed willingness to buy insurance products from new players including non-insurance companies, according to a survey from management consulting firm Bain & Company.

Singapore trails behind Thailand which nabbed the top spot as nearly all (97%) of customers are open to buying insurance from newcomers. It is followed by Indonesia (93%), China (89%), Malaysia (88%) and Hong Kong (78%).

Also read: Insurtech challenges Singapore's largest insurance firms

Nevertheless, the proportion of consumers willing to purchase policies from new entrants in Singapore still ranks ahead of Japan (68%) and Australia (63%). 

The survey revealed that the share of customers that have used digital channels to make an insurance purchase in Singapore hit over 40% in 2018 from over 20% in 2016, suggesting that new market entrants need to make more effort in tapping on the strong digital appetites of locals.