General insurance sector grows 10.1% in 2023; domestic motor claims spike

SINGAPORE’S general insurance sector posted a year-on-year increase of 10.1 per cent in gross written premiums to S$10.2 billion in 2023, led by growth in both the domestic and offshore segments. The overall sector recorded an underwriting profit of S$608.1 million for 2023.

Data released by the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) on Monday (Mar 18) showed a 7.3 per cent increase in domestic gross written premiums to S$5.2 billion. Underwriting profit, however, fell by 11.2 per cent to S$262.9 million as net incurred claims rose 44 per cent.

Based on gross written premiums, motor insurance had the largest market share (21 per cent) in 2023. This was followed by the health (19.2 per cent), property (14.9 per cent), employers’ liability (8.9 per cent) and travel (5.7 per cent) sectors.

Notably, the motor segment reported the largest increase in claims (73.3 per cent) to S$573.4 million as traffic accidents rose. There were 149,451 accident report counts in 2023, up from 139,019 in 2022 and 123,485 the year before.

While the segment’s gross written premiums remained largely unchanged at S$1.1 billion, underwriting losses shrank significantly to S$7.7 million compared to S$21.6 million in 2022.

GIA president Ronak Shah said protecting and supporting the motoring public will remain a key focus for the general insurance sector in the coming year.

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“Despite the (general insurance sector’s) positive results, we remain keenly aware of economic headwinds and the continued threat posed by fraudulent activities.”

Health insurance – which led the overall sector’s strong performance in 2022 with a S$64.5 million profit – sank into the red with a S$10.6 million underwriting loss for 2023.

GIA said the reversal was due to a 10.3 per cent spike in health insurance claims, suggesting rising healthcare costs and larger average claim bill sizes. It also noted a continued focus on corporate health insurance, in view of the segment’s 12.1 per cent increase in gross written premiums.

In the property segment, gross written premiums grew a slight 2.2 per cent to S$774.9 million, though underwriting profit dipped 9.5 per cent to S$45.5 million. This came as net incurred claims grew 38 per cent to S$52.9 million, with house fires remaining a key concern in 2023.

In line with Singapore’s workforce expansion, employers’ liability insurance gross written premiums grew 10.2 per cent to S$463.2 million. Underwriting profit grew to S$45.7 million from S$24 million previously, which GIA attributed to a 21.7 per cent drop in workplace deaths and improved workplace safety measures.

Meanwhile, the travel insurance segment emerged as one of the top performers in the domestic market with 37.6 per cent higher gross written premiums of S$295.1 million (*see amendment note) and S$30.6 million in underwriting profit.

This was attributed to the continued recovery in travel and increased awareness among travellers.

GIA expects travel insurance to “continue being top-of-mind” in 2024.

Within the offshore market, gross written premiums grew 13.3 per cent to S$5 billion from S$4.4 billion in 2022, led by a surge in contributions from the property segment.

Underwriting profit however inched down 0.6 per cent to S$345.2 million from S$347.4 million in 2022. This came as net profit contributions from property and cargo were more than offset by declines in other segments, particularly a reversal in profitability for engineering.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story misstated the travel insurance segment’s gross written premiums as S$395.1 million. The article has been amended to reflect the correct figure.