General Insurance Business Volume Still Highh

Published: 2009/03/10


THE insurance industry has maintained an overall high volume of business despite facing a challenging year in 2008, Bank Negara Malaysia's director of insurance and takaful supervision department, Yap Lai Kuen, said today.

Gross direct premium in the general insurance sector amounted to RM10.5 billion in 2008, an increase of 3.2 per cent from RM10.2 billion in 2007, Yap said. "This was due to the strong performance of the non-motor sector, in particular classes such as medical and health, liabilities and personal accident, which grew at 16.7 per cent, 10.5 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively," she said when opening the first Insurance Society of Sarawak insurance agency seminar here.

Yap said for the life insurance sector, total new business annual premium equivalent was RM7.2 billion last year, a slight decrease from RM7.6 billion in 2007.

This, she said, was largely due to a drop in sales of investment-linked business. However, Yap said the ordinary life segment recorded a strong growth of 18.6 per cent, demonstrating the industry's ability to adapt to a changing business environment.

"I would like to emphasise the need for agents to keep up-to-date in terms of technical competency," she said. This, she added, was vital given the increasing level of complexity of products offered as industry players proactively meet the challenge of slower growth markets by offering new and innovative products. -- BERNAMA