Singapore's new business premiums in life insurance up 1% to $687.16m in Q1

The uptake in annual premium buys offset the decrease in single premium product purchases.

The life insurance industry’s new business premiums grew 1% YoY to $687.16m (S$937.2m) in Q1, data from the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) revealed.

The sustained uptake of annual premium products cushioned the decreasing uptake of single premium products as single premium policies fell 20% to $164.75m (S$224.7m), and annual premium policies jumped 11% to $522.4m (S$712.5m) in Q1.

The agency also noted that the uptake of Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS)-included products reduced in Q1 amidst the phased reduction of sales charge and wrap fees. Meanwhile, retirement policies purchased skyrocketed 84% to 12,213 policies from 6,631 policies bought as at end-March 2018. Making up about 12% of total weighted premiums for Q1, retirement policies totalled $79.92m (S$109m).

More Singaporeans have been covered with integrated shield plans (IPs), LIA said. As of end March, Sinaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) covered by IPs grew 68% to 2.74 million.

LIA further noted that total new business premiums for individual health insurance hit $71.34m (S$97.3m) in Q1, where IPs and IP rider premiums accounted for 86% or $61.44m (S$83.8m) whilst the remaining 14% or $9.90m (S$13.5m) comprised other medical plans and riders.