Singapore Life Roars

Life insurance sales last year crossed a record S$100 billion mark in total sum assured due to a healthy growth across all types of businesses and a higher cost of living, Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA) said on Wednesday. LIA president Khoo Kah Siang said the new protection cover of S$101.2 billion represents a 14 per cent increase in new business sum assured from S$88.67 billion in 2014.

"2015 has been a purposeful year for life insurers in Singapore as we focused on implementation of the key Financial Advisory Industry Review (FAIR) initiatives - compareFIRST, Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) products and Balanced Scorecard for financial adviser representatives," Dr Khoo said.

For the full year, total weighted new business premiums rose 8 per cent to almost S$3 billion, boosted by sales of single premium linked products. This comprised a 9 per cent rise in weighted single premium sales to S$940.8 million and weighted annual premium sales of S$2.06 billion, up 7 per cent.

Launched in April last year, DPI products drew about S$550,000 in weighted new premiums, with the lion's share coming from term life plans.