English
Aug
10
Singapore's Life and Health Insurance Business Up on New Sales
Posted on Aug 10, 2010 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)
The life insurance industry in Singapore is riding high, after growth in new sales of life insurance and health insurance policies continued into the second quarter of the financial year. The new business premiums in the Singaporean life insurance market were up 16% year-on-year for the second quarter, with figures for the first half of 2010 showing total weighted new business premiums growing 28 percent year-on-year to SGD 671 million (USD 495 million). Sales of regular premium life insurance products in Singapore were up 26 percent year-on-year to SGD 518 million (USD 383 million) in the first half of 2010. Single premium life insurance product sales rose to SGD 2.09 billion (USD 1.54 billion) in the first half of the year, a 36 percent increase over the same period last year, reflecting the strong economy. Health insurance in Singapore also saw a rise in business in the first half of 2010, with new premiums rising 10% over the same period in the previous year to SGD 77 million (USD 56.9 million). The strong growth in Singapore health insurance and life insurance reflects the strong economy in the country at the moment, with the Ministry of Trade and Industry expecting GDP to grow between 13 and 15 percent for 2010, although they are expecting a more subdued second half to the year. The President of Singapore's Life Insurance Association, Tan Hak Leh, mirrored that sentiment, saying "We definitely expect the growth momentum to continue throughout the rest of the year although the growth rate may not be as high in the second half of this year compared to the first half and that's partly because of the strong performance in the second half of last year." The strong economy is also increasing desire for more diverse insurance products in Singapore, with Neal Armstrong, the Deputy President of the Life Insurance Association saying "We've seen an emergence from some of the foreign insurers - this is the larger sums assured for small corporates or the ultra high net worth market, so that's with investment and protection. And there is more investment in single premium products. People are becoming more confident in the markets, moving away from cash and getting into other asset classes."