LIAM records 12.4% growth

The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) recorded an overall stronger performance with a double-digit growth of 12.4 percent in its new business total premiums in 2021 as compared to 2020. For the financial year ended December 2021, the industry recorded MYR12.8 billion in new business total premiums from MYR11.4 billion in 2020. The stronger performance of the life insurance industry reflects the increase in awareness among the consumers on the importance of life insurance protection amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to LIAM President, Loh Guat Lan, the industry recorded a healthier performance, driven by the strong rebound of investment-linked policies which rose 31.2 percent to reach MYR6.6 billion in 2021, despite the challenging business environment due to the pandemic. Group policies recorded a moderate growth of 7.7 percent in new business total premiums to MYR4.1 billion in 2021. However, traditional policies charted a decline of 17.3 percent during the year. “The overall new business sum assured increased to MYR461.1 billion, registering a modest growth of 5.4 percent from MYR437.2 billion in 2020. The new business sum assured of investment linked policies recorded a strong increase of 14.4 percent from MYR107.7 billion to MYR123.2 billion in 2021 while group policies recorded an increase of 2.8 percent and traditional policies, a slight dip of one percent,” Loh said.