The Singapore market recorded a total of S$1.66 billion ($1.21 billion) in weighted new business premiums for the first half of 2020, a drop of 13 percent from the same period in 2019.

The drop was due to the ongoing recession stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in demand and supply-side shocks to the Singapore economy, the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA Singapore) said on Tuesday .

Annual premium business recorded a 25 percent drop from the same period last year, with sales «significantly impacted» in the second quarter –  the amount of premiums collected was only half of the level in the same period last year.

However, the growth of single premium sales helped cushion the impact caused by the decrease in annual premium business.  The first half of the year saw a 17 percent year-on-year increase in weighted single premiums, amounting to S$622.9 million. LIA noted that such products are simple to understand and do not require medical underwriting, which allowed representatives to bring customers through the sales process electronically and close sales despite the partial lockdown and social distancing measures.

Industry Transformation

Employment in the life industry rose by 4 percent year-on-year, with 368 net new hires. This brings Singapore’s life insurance industry’s workforce to 8,650 employees as at 30 June 2020. New hires have primarily been attributed to the expansion of distribution and sales teams, as well as project and product management roles, LIA said.

Despite the pandemic, the industry has also been doubling down on workforce transformation efforts, with member companies working together at the industry level to provide training for staff, given the continued demand for talent in the technology and digital space. Companies have used SG United traineeships programs to provide internship placement opportunities for tertiary students, including career opportunities in data science and digital analytics, LIA said.

«Life insurers need to accelerate their digitalization efforts as these are crucial to maintain business continuity, optimize efficiency, improve customer servicing standards and enable the innovation of new products,» Khor Hock Seng, LIA Singapore president, said.