Motor growth tapers, claims high: PIAM

The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), the regulator representing all insurers in the country, has released figures for 2016. Growth in the insurance industry has tapered to just 1.1 percent in 2016, which is the lowest seen in many years. That’s half the 2.2 percent growth rate in 2015. Gross written premium income was MYR17.67 billion last year.

At 46.2 percent of the pie, motor insurance is the biggest contributor to the business, and premiums stood at MYR8.17 billion compared to MYR8.09 billion in 2015, a growth of 0.8 percent. It is way ahead of fire insurance, the second largest class at 18.5 percent.

Growth is marginal, but claims remain high. Motor insurance claims amounted to MYR5.02 billion last year, which works out to MYR13.8 million per day. While that’s five percent lower than in 2015 (MYR5.29 billion), it remains a key concern for the industry. The claims include those paid out for property damage (own car, the other party’s car), bodily injury and death, and vehicle theft. PIAM bosses point out that medical costs are on the rise.

According to statistics recently quoted by the Ministry of Transport, the total number of accidents recorded in 2016 was 521,466 cases, a seven percent increase from 489,606 cases in 2015. Total deaths from road accidents also jumped seven percent from 6,706 in 2015 to 7,152 last year. Malaysia’s vehicle ownership ratio is among the highest in the world, and so is the accident rate.