The underwriting performance of insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) in Malaysia was adversely affected by an increase in medical payouts in 2022, says Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Etiqa has become the first insurer in Malaysia to sign on to the United Nations' Principles for Sustainable Insurance (UN PSI) under the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The digitalisation of the road tax system will have a positive impact not only to policyholders but also the environment, says the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM).
The government should abolish the current fee system at government health institutions and replace it with a national health insurance scheme for a more sustainable solution to healthcare financing, proposes a think tank.
Most insurers in Malaysia confirm that they have already started to draw up their own processes to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) in their underwriting and investment strategies as well as in their operations, the "Malaysian Insurance Highlights", released last week.
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga, Malaysia's first takaful operator, has hit a record-breaking operating revenue of MYR3.76bn ($842.7m) for the financial year ended 31 December 2022, higher by 18% compared to MYR3.18bn in 2021.
Indonesian reinsurers are influenced by lower sovereign ratings, shallower financial markets and a less developed insurance industry, compared with peers in Thailand and Malaysia, says Fitch Ratings.
Malaysia's takaful underwriting income and capital strength will remain stable and robust on sustained growth in contributions, despite challenges from volatile profitability, Fitch Ratings says.
Leading insurance group Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) has announced that while profit attributable to shareholders fell 30% to S$784.2m ($584.3m) for 2022, largely reflecting the lower valuation of investments given the challenging global investment climate, operating profit from insurance business registered a healthy growth of 7% for the year.
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