Source: LIAM, 6 December 2019

The life insurance industry recorded a healthy growth in insurance coverage among Malaysians in 3Q2019, registering a total of RM391.78 billion in new business sum assured. This registered an increase of 9.4% as compared with RM358.05 billion registered in the same period last year.

The healthy performance of the life insurance industry reflects the continued increase in awareness among Malaysians on the importance of insurance protection.

Sum Assured Per Capita
The per capita sum assured registered is RM46,610 in 2018 as compared to RM43,029 in 2017 but it is still below the amount needed to support one family member in the event of death or disability of the breadwinner. The 2012/2013 study undertaken by LIAM and UKM showed that the average mortality gap for each member of a family is about RM100,000 to RM150,000.

Number Of New Policies
As a whole, the life insurance industry registered a total of 969,680 new policies in the 3Q2019, an increase of 7.6%. Group policies grew by 1.2% in 2019.

Total New Premiums
New business total premium grew by 13.2% in 2019 amounting to RM8.74 billion as compared to 7.72 billion in 2018.

Claims
The total claims paid out increased from RM7.85 billion in 2018 to RM8.68 billion in 2019, recording an increase of 10.5%. The increase in claims payments was mainly due to higher medical claims which rose to 22.6%.