Malaysia's life insurance industry has recorded a 5.3% rise in sum assured in force amounting to MYR1.9 trillion (US$431 billion) last year versus MYR1.8 trillion in 2021, said the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM).
In its 2022 annual report, LIAM president Loh Guat Lan said the total in force premium grew by 3.5% last year to MYR44.1 billion from MYR42.7 billion in 2021. Ms Loh stepped down on March 29 after completing a three-year stint as president.
“(The) overall new business sum assured increased to MYR497.7 billion in 2022, an increase of 8% from MYR461.1 billion in 2021. However, the number of new policies issued fell slightly by 2.1% to 1.8 million compared with 1.9 million in 2021,” she said.
New business total premium showed a drop of 6.4% last year, which amounted to MYR12 billion compared with MYR12.8 billion in 2021, while the industry recorded a 12.7% increase in claims payout amounting to MYR13.4 billion versus MYR11.9 billion in 2021, mainly due to higher claims in medical and disability that rose by 33.7% and 20.6%, respectively.
Ms Loh said Malaysia’s insurance industry remained resilient, adapting to new market conditions and continuing to meet the needs of customers despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
In addition, she said the association would be working with the Financial Industry Collective Outreach to spread financial literacy in schools across Malaysia as well as with the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency to embark on a financial education initiative targeted at tertiary students and working adults.
Moving forward, she pointed out that the industry needs to identify future-ready talent and develop diverse skill sets for multi-competencies to ensure that it could future-proof the workforce to remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing market.
“LIAM will collaborate with the Malaysian Insurance Institute on the development of all types of skills to support the digital workforce,” she added, reported FMT.