Payout from life insurers drops to S$6.79b despite rise in claims

SINGAPORE — The life insurance industry paid out S$6.79 billion to policyholders and beneficiaries last year, a decrease from the previous year.

This is due to a drop in the amount paid out, from S$7.04 billion in 2013 to S$6.19 billion, for policies that matured. The amount paid out for death, critical illness or disability claims, however, rose 13 per cent to S$602 million, from S$534 million in 2013.

Overall, weighted new business sales was about S$2.789 billion last year, unchanged from 2013. Annual premium sales fell 8 per cent to S$1.928 billion compared to 2013, which had seen a spike in premiums due to the re-pricing exercise of Integrated Shield Plans (IPs), said the Life Insurance Association Singapore (LIA Singapore), which released these figures yesterday. Single premium sales, however, rose to S$860.8 million, up 23 per cent from 2013. The amount of new health insurance premiums was S$266 million last year, down 42 per cent from 2013. Ninety-two per cent of new health insurance premiums went to IPs and IP riders.

The association said about one in two individuals (2.75 million people) in Singapore has health cover, with premiums amounting to S$1.6 billion as of December last year.

In preparation for the launch of MediShield Life at the end of the year, LIA Singapore said it would continue to work with IP insurers and the Government to improve public education on health insurance and on how MediShield Life and IPs work. The insurers are also developing the standard B1 plan jointly with the Ministry of Health.

The IP insurers will work with policymakers and relevant bodies to improve the price transparency of professional fees within the healthcare industry and review and apply global pricing benchmarks. It will also leverage data analytics to allow for better scrutiny of unusually high healthcare bills, LIA Singapore said.