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The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today (May 30) released provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance industry for the first quarter of 2007.
In the first quarter of 2007, gross premiums for general insurance business remained comparable to that for the corresponding period of 2006, amounting to HK$6,792 million whilst net premiums slightly increased by 0.5% to HK$4,904 million.
The overall underwriting profit of general insurance business decreased from HK$637 million to HK$441 million. This was mainly attributable to the significant deterioration in the underwriting performance of Ships business, turning from a profit of HK$50 million to a loss of HK$177 million. Property Damage business remained the largest contributor to the overall underwriting profit, albeit reducing from HK$214 million to HK$183 million.
On direct business, gross premiums increased by 3.4% to HK$5,548 million and net premiums increased by 4.3% to HK$4,023 million in the first quarter of 2007. With significant deterioration in the underwriting performance of Ships business due to worsened claims experience, the underwriting profit of direct business dropped from HK$424 million to HK$274 million. As regards the two major classes of compulsory insurance business, i.e. Motor Vehicle business and Employees' Compensation (EC) business, decline in premium rates led to a reduction in the underwriting profit of Motor Vehicle business from HK$82 million to HK$24 million whereas improvement in claims experience turned the underwriting result of EC business from a loss of $63 million to a profit of HK$3 million.
On reinsurance inward business, gross and net premiums decreased by 13% to HK$1,243 million and 14% to HK$881 million respectively. The underwriting profit reduced from HK$213 million to HK$167 million due to decline in premiums written.
Total revenue premiums of long term in-force business amounted to HK$38,150 million in the first quarter of this year, representing an increase of 23.9% over the same period of 2006.
Revenue premiums of Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business and Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business grew by 16.2% to HK$18,450 million and 33.7% to HK$13,256 million respectively. Contributions of Retirement Scheme business also recorded a growth by 32.5% to HK$5,673 million. On the benefit side, total insurance benefits paid to individuals during the said period increased by 28.9% to HK$12,209 million.
New business statistics for the first quarter of 2007 showed that new office premiums (excluding Retirement Scheme business) of long term business increased by 32.4 % to HK$16,211 million, compared with the same period of 2006. Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business increased by 22.9% to HK$5,982 million in terms of new office premiums. New office premiums of Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business grew by 39.0% to HK$10,122 million.
In respect of new policies issued to Mainland visitors, office premiums amounted to HK$835 million, representing 5.2% of the total new office premiums (HK$16,166 million) for individual business in the first quarter of 2007.
Summary of provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance business from January to March 2007 is attached as an annex. Provisional statistics in detail can be downloaded from the OCI's website: http://www.oci.gov.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:01
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