MALAYSIAN PROPERTY, CASUALTY INSURANCE REGISTERED 3.0 PCT GROWTH IN 2021 -- ALLIANZ

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysian property and casualty (property & casualty) insurance returned to a solid 3.0 per cent growth in 2021, after declining by 0.6 per cent in 2020, according to Allianz Global Insurance Report 2022.

In a statement today, Allianz Group said the life segment continued to enjoy robust growth at 8.0 per cent, benefiting from the increased risk awareness in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

"Thus, the total market clocked an increase of 6.5 per cent. For 2022, we expect growth to slightly accelerate to 8.3 per cent (life: 9.1 per cent, p&c: 6.3 per cent).

"Over the entire next decade, average growth should reach 6.7 per cent per year (life: 6.9 per cent, p&c: 6.1 per cent). This would be above the pace of the previous decade of 4.5 per cent, reflecting the improved growth outlook," it said.

According to the report, global premiums grew by 5.1 per cent in 2021 (life: 4.4 per cent; p&c: 6.3 per cent), thanks to strong economic tailwinds, rising risk awareness and record-high savings buoyed by booming markets.

Total premium income reached EUR 4.2 trillion (life: EUR 2.5 trillion and p&c: EUR 1.7 trillion) (EUR1=RM4.69).

The year 2021 represented an unusual end to the past decade in which growth was much lower at 3.6 per cent per year on average, with Asia accounting for 40 per cent of all additional premiums, more than half of them written in China. Hence, China’s global market share doubled to 12 per cent, it said.

Allianz said 2022 was expected to be another bumper year for the insurance industry, but the invasion of Ukraine dashed those hopes.

"Overall, we now expect global premium income to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2022, with life and p&c developing almost in step at 4.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, against a backdrop of a global inflation rate of 6.2 per cent this year," it added.

-- BERNAMA