************************************************************
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today (May 31) released provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance industry for the first quarter of 2011.
The total gross premiums of the Hong Kong insurance industry in the first quarter of 2011 were $56.3 billion, representing an increase of 13.3% over the corresponding period in 2010.
In the first quarter of 2011, gross and net premiums of general insurance business rose by 11.2% to $10.3 billion and 8.4% to $7.0 billion, respectively, compared with the corresponding period in 2010. Overall underwriting profit, however, declined from $559 million to $482 million.
On direct business, gross and net premiums gained 9.6% to $7.6 billion and 8.9% to $5.6 billion, respectively, in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the corresponding period in 2010, propelled again by accident and health business (comprising medical business) whose gross and net premiums were $2.9 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively. General liability business (comprising employees' compensation business) recorded gross and net premiums of $1.7 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, and motor vehicle business of $812 million and $650 million, respectively, also contributed to the premium growth.
The underwriting profit of direct business slightly decreased to $370 million in the first quarter of 2011 from $383 million in the corresponding period of 2010. Employees' compensation business achieved an improvement in its underwriting result, turning from a loss of $50 million to a profit of $4 million primarily due to better claims experience. Driven by mortgage guarantee business amid a buoyant property market, the profit of pecuniary loss business increased from $138 million to $160 million. Deterioration in claims experience, however, led to a fall in the underwriting profit of motor vehicle business from $61 million to $2 million.
On reinsurance inward business, gross and net premiums grew from $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion and from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, respectively, in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the corresponding period in 2010, primarily attributable to the strong premium growth in property damage business. Nevertheless, the underwriting profit dropped from $175 million to $113 million due to adverse claims experience.
The total revenue premiums of long-term in-force business were $46.0 billion in the first quarter of 2011, increasing by 13.8% over the same period of 2010.
Revenue premiums of individual life and annuity (non-linked) business and individual life and annuity (linked) business increased by 21.9% to $29.9 billion and by 24.0% to $12.3 billion, respectively. Contributions of retirement scheme business plunged by 43.0% to $3.0 billion.
New office premiums (excluding retirement scheme business) of long-term business for the first quarter of 2011 increased significantly by 32.1% to $16.9 billion compared with the same period of 2010. Both individual life and annuity (non-linked) business and individual life and annuity (linked) business recorded significant premium growth - the former increased by 28.7% to $11.2 billion and the latter increased by 40.4% to $5.6 billion in terms of new office premiums.
In respect of new policies issued to Mainland visitors, office premiums amounted to $1.7 billion, representing 9.9% of the total new office premiums ($16.9 billion) for individual business in the first quarter of 2011.
A summary of provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance business for the first quarter of 2011 can be found in the Annex. Further details can be downloaded from the OCI's website, www.oci.gov.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Issued at HKT 15:12
NNNN
