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Singapore has achieved a record-high value of weighted new business insurance premiums in 2017 at SGD$4.09 billion, according to the country’s Life Insurance Association (LIA).
This signified 24% year-on-year growth and demonstrates the outstanding performance of the life insurance sector, according to the LIA, which is a non-profit trade body for life insurers and reinsurers in Singapore.
There was also a notable increase in uptake of single-premium products, with weighted premiums growing 43% to SGD$1.46 billion in 2017. Around 73% of these were single premium par and non-par products, while 27% were single premium linked products.
According to the LIA, in the fourth quarter of 2017, sales of single-premium products spiked by 91%, compared to the same period in 2016. The SGD$563.2 million in premiums for the quarter made up 38% of the entire year’s figure.
The total sum assured for first-time insurance product owners increased by 12% year-on-year to SGD$130.5 billion. The figure has been on an upward trend since 2014.
Meanwhile, the life insurance industry has paid out SGD$5.82 billion to its policyholders and beneficiaries for the entire year of 2017. SGD$4.93 billion was for policies that matured, while SGD$884 million was for death, critical illness, or disability claims, the association said.
As of December 31, 2017, 2.96 million individuals, or roughly three in every four Singaporeans, had an integrated shield plan (IP) that provided coverage over and above the component included in MediShield Life.
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