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The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today (March 15) released provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance industry for 2009.
In 2009, gross and net premiums for general insurance business recorded a growth of 5.7% to $28.6 billion and 7.1% to $20.5 billion respectively compared with 2008. Overall underwriting performance also registered improvement from a profit of $1.5 billion to that of $2.2 billion for 2009.
On direct business, gross and net premiums gained 5.3% to $22.7 billion and 6.3% to $17 billion respectively in 2009. Accident and Health business (comprising Medical business) continued to grow with gross and net premiums reaching $7.4 billion and $6.2 billion respectively. Construction-related Employees' Compensation business also was boosted with gross and net premiums increasing to $1.8 billion and $1.5 billion respectively. The overall business growth was nonetheless offset by the decline in Ships business and Goods in Transit business. The former recorded a fall in gross and net premiums to $963 million and $624 million respectively and for the latter the gross and net premiums contracted to $849 million and $538 million respectively.
The underwriting profit of direct business grew from $519 million to $1.4 billion in 2009 as a result of favourable claims experience. Specifically, Property Damage business reported a profit of $505 million as compared with $127 million for 2008 when severe losses were inflicted by tropical storms, while the underwriting loss for Employees' Compensation business significantly reduced from $498 million to $82 million. There was also a material decline in the underwriting loss for Motor Vehicle business primarily due to improvement in claims experience, which was partly attributable to the exclusion from the statistical data of the claims incurred figures of a local insurer placed in provisional liquidation since May 2009.
On reinsurance inward business, gross and net premiums went up by 7.2% to $5.8 billion and 10.9% to $3.5 billion respectively in 2009. Nevertheless, the underwriting profit reduced from $990 million to $779 million due to adverse claims experience.
Total revenue premiums of long term in-force business was $157.1 billion in 2009, decreasing by 5.4% over 2008.
Revenue premiums of Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business increased by 11.3% to $91.2 billion whereas Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business plunged 33.4% to $37.7 billion. Contributions of Retirement Scheme business grew by 2.2% to $25.3 billion. Total insurance benefits paid to individuals decreased by 0.1% to $63.0 billion.
New office premiums (excluding Retirement Scheme business) of long term business for 2009 decreased by 23.3% to $46.5 billion compared with 2008, mainly due to a reduction in Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business premiums by 58.3% to $15.1 billion. This notwithstanding, new office premiums for Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business increased by 28.7% to $31.0 billion.
In respect of new policies issued to Mainland visitors, office premiums amounted to $3.0 billion, representing 6.4% of the total new office premiums ($46.3 billion) for individual business in 2009.
A summary of provisional statistics of the Hong Kong insurance business for 2009 is at the Annex. Further details can be downloaded from the OCI's website: www.oci.gov.hk .
Ends/Monday, March 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:00
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