Singapore’s life insurance industry down in first quarter

Annual premiums surged 24.7% on a quarterly basis.

According to the Life Insurance Association of Singapore (LIA), the industry fell by 13.6% year-on-year (YoY) in weighted new business premiums for the first quarter.

This amounted to a total of S$1.05b (US$790m) in the January to March period. For single-premium products, it also fell by 46% on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis to S$355.7m (US$267.1m)

Amidst the country’s sluggish economic growth during the first quarter of the year and apprehensions about a possible technical recession looming over Singapore in 2023, the decline in demand for single-premium products can be linked to the turbulent macroeconomic conditions and mounting interest rates in an intensively competitive market, said LIA.

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In contrast to the downward trend, the take-up of annual premium products jumped 24.7% QoQ to S$692m (US$520m) in total weighted premiums.

In the first quarter of 2023, tied representatives played a pivotal role in obtaining a significant $12.3b (US$9.2b) sum assured, which accounted for 40.3% of the total sum assured in the period.

Financial advisory (FA) representatives also made a notable contribution, securing $10.4b (US$7.8b) in sum assured, which represented 34.1% of the total sum assured for the same period. 

Overall, the industry recorded a total of $30.5b (US$23b) in sum assured during the first quarter.

(S$1 = US$0.75)