Life insurance business premiums up 0.4% to $4.3b in Q4 2019

Total sum assured for new businesses grew 7% YoY to $149.5b.

The life insurance industry posted $4.3b in weighted new business premiums for YTD Q42019, up 0.4% from 2018, the Life Insurance Association said in a press release.

Total sum assured for new businesses grew 7% growth YoY to $149.5b amidst a lukewarm economic growth for 2019, the slowest in a decade. Annual premium policies also rose 7% from 2018 to $3b.

However, single premium businesses fell 12%, with weighted single premiums posting $1.2b mainly due to global market volatility.

Retirement policies increased 34% YTD in Q4, with 51,040 policies purchased as of 31 December 2019 as customers are urged to take retirement planning seriously. They accounted for about 11% of total weighted premiums for Q4 and totalled $469m in weighted premiums for 2019.