Insurance Authority releases Hong Kong insurance business statistics for 2020

30 September 2021

The Insurance Authority (IA) today (30 September 2021) released the Hong Kong insurance business statistics for 2020, compiled based on audited returns and actuarial information submitted by individual insurers, indicating that gross premiums grew year-on-year by 2.5% to $581.3 billion.

(Percentage figures shown in brackets represent changes over 2019)

Long term business

The office premiums of in-force long term business were $521.5 billion in 2020 (increased by 2%), with Individual Life business contributing $458.6 billion (increased by 4.2%) or 87.9% of the total, derived from 13.7 million policies carrying net liabilities of $2,669.4 billion. In-force office premiums for Individual Annuity business were $47.8 billion (decreased by 15.3%), underpinned by around 160,000 Qualifying Deferred Annuity Policies (QDAPs).

The office premiums of new Individual Life business were $119.6 billion in 2020 (decreased by 20.9%) derived from 1 million policies, made up of $106.8 billion attributable to Non-Linked business (decreased by 23.4%) and $12.8 billion attributable to Linked business (increased by 8.8%). The office premiums of new Individual Annuity business were $13.3 billion (decreased by 36.3%), driven by some 65,000 QDAPs that accounted for total annualised premiums of $4.6 billion.

General business

Total gross and net premiums of general business in 2020 were $59.9 billion (increased by 8%) and $40.5 billion (increased by 7.3%) respectively, as underwriting profit improved from $869 million in 2019 to $2.3 billion in 2020. Benefiting from rates hardening and reinsurance inward business, Property Damage business attracted premiums of $12.1 billion (increased by 17.6%) and General Liability business recorded $13.8 billion (increased by 10.4%). These outcomes were partially offset by Accident & Health business whose gross premiums dropped 3.5% to $17.7 billion as a result of reduced outbound travel.

The underwriting profit of direct business surged from $488 million in 2019 to $1.9 billion in 2020, mainly due to lower reported claims amidst subdued economic activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accident & Health business registered a hike of underwriting profit from $295 million to $1.1 billion, and Employees’ Compensation business turned from underwriting loss of $260 million to a profit of $409 million. The underwriting loss of direct Motor Vehicle business also narrowed from $514 million to $242 million, and the underwriting profit of Reinsurance Inward business went up from $381 million to $480 million.

A summary of the Hong Kong insurance statistics for 2020 is at Annex, and further details can be obtained at the IA website.

Ends