Life insurance sales jumped 27% to $2b in new business premiums

Check out what drove the growth.

According to a release by Life Insurance Association, the life insurance sector posted strong results for the first nine months of 2013, hitting $2 billion in weighted new business premiums, a 27 per cent increase over the same period in the previous year. The growth was driven by healthy sales across all product lines.

Sales of annual premium products were particularly strong, totaling $1.5 billion for the first three quarters of 2013, up by a sizeable 31 per cent over the same period in 2012.

Sales of single premium products also increased by 17 per cent to reach $0.5 billion of weighted single premiums. Of this amount, 16 per cent comprised CPF-funded sales.

“We’ve seen three straight quarters of growth this year,” said Dr Khoo Kah Siang, President, Life Insurance Association. “Growth in both annual premium and single premium products is indicative of encouraging market sentiment and strong consumer confidence in life insurance. 

“Our industry is delivering more innovative and tailored solutions to meet a suite of needs among the diverse consumer segments. With rising educational levels and financial literacy comes a demand for more customised financial planning solutions among Singaporeans. At the same time we also must meet the needs of consumers who seek basic insurance products which in turn will help to narrow the protection gap.”