Taiwan’s life insurance industry reported strong premium growth in the first quarter, buoyed by demand for foreign-currency and investment-linked products, as insurers adjusted offerings ahead of new accounting and capital rules.
Total premium income, including revenue from non-insurance contracts, climbed 18.6 percent from a year earlier to NT$794.9 billion (US$25.19 billion) in the January-to-March period, data released yesterday by the Life Insurance Association (壽險公會) showed.
New policy premiums led the increase, jumping 36.1 percent to NT$368.2 billion, while renewal premiums picked up 6.7 percent to NT$426.6 billion.
Photo: Cheng I-Hwa, AFP
Life insurance policies accounted for the bulk of new business, with premiums gaining 33.6 percent to NT$237.4 billion, or 64.5 percent of total new policy premiums.
New annuity premiums surged 48.1 percent to NT$116.2 billion, representing 31.6 percent of the total.
Health insurance generated NT$10.7 billion in new premiums, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, while accident insurance brought in NT$3.9 billion, accounting for 1.1 percent of new business.
Demand has been supported by relatively stable US interest rates, which have kept policies denominated in US dollars attractive for investors seeking higher yields, it said.
Insurers are also reshaping product strategies ahead of new accounting and capital rules, promoting protection-oriented policies that offer higher contractual service margins and improved capital efficiency through bank distribution channels.
At the same time, companies have expanded foreign currency-denominated participating and interest-sensitive products to support sales of traditional insurance policies.
Investment-linked products saw particularly strong growth. New premiums from investment-linked life policies totaled NT$72.6 billion, up 61.3 percent from a year earlier, while investment-linked annuity products generated NT$115.2 billion, an increase of 50.4 percent.
The association said insurers have continued collaborating with banks and asset managers to offer hybrid products that combine protection and investment features, reflecting increasingly diversified consumer demand.
Sales channels differed by product type. Investment-linked policies were sold more evenly through banks and insurers, while traditional products such as health and accident insurance continued to rely mainly on insurers’ in-house sales networks.
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