General Insurance Premium up 10%

The general insurance industry has recorded an increase in gross direct premiums of 10 per cent to RM19.4 billion for 2022 compared to 2021.

However, underwriting profit contracted by 23 per cent to RM1.56 billion mainly due to losses in both motor as well as medical and health insurance lines of business.

General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) said motor portfolio reverted to a loss after two years of profit during the pandemic with a reported 58 per cent rise in the number of accidents as of September 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

“Reversing a trend of recent years, the industry’s gross direct premium growth rate outpaced Malaysia gross domestic product’s growth rate,” PIAM said in a statement.

Following the full reopening of the economy in 2022, the economic outlook, however, is tempered by forecasted risks of global economic recession and other global headwinds, PIAM said.

The association said that motor and fire lines of business remained as the top premium contributors. Motor maintained its position as the largest business line with 46 per cent share of total premium.

“Although motor insurance observed a nine per cent growth in gross direct premiums to RM9.0 billion in 2022, it recorded an underwriting loss of RM3 million with net claims incurred ratio deteriorating to 65.3 per cent reverting towards pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, premium for fire in 2022 rose by six per cent to RM3.82 billion versus 2021 with underwriting margin improving to 39.1 per cent owing to improved claims experience.

Personal accident also saw a significant 43 per cent growth in premium year-on-year largely due to the Perlindungan Tenang Voucher (PTV) Program initiated by the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia in collaboration with the general, life and takaful insurance industry.

The 2022 premiums for miscellaneous, and marine aviation and transit (MAT) classes of insurance also trended upwards by 10 per cent and eight per cent to RM2.7 billion and RM1.5 billion, respectively.

Medical and health insurance (MHI) saw a one per cent rise in premium to RM976 million compared to 2021. However, MHI underwriting margin more than halved to five per cent in 2022 from 12.1 per cent in 2021 due to higher claims.

On insurance claims, PIAM said the general insurance industry settled closed to RM19 million daily on total insurance claims.

The amount of daily claims payout is reverting to pre-pandemic trend in 2022 with a 23 per cent y-o-y rise versus 2021.

Over the past decade, motor daily claims payout represented the majority of total claims averaging at RM13 million per day (72 per cent of total payout). Motor daily claims payout rose to RM13 million a day last year following reductions in the previous three years. – Bernama