Page 17 - The Insurance Times January 2022

whereas injuries registered a growth submit video footage in case of an ac- vided further impetus to the property
of 15% during January-September cident. insurance industry, which grew at a
2021, as compared to the same period Sahoo concludes: “Singapore motor CAGR of 9.0% during 2016 -2020.
in 2020. Subsequently, the Singapore insurers are embracing for a major Japan is the largest market in the APAC
motor insurance industry combined shift in their product offering in the region, accounting for 30% of the
ratio, which decreased from 102.6% in coming years with the government region’s written premiums in 2020.
2019 to 87.9% in 2020 is expected to push for EV adoption to meet the ob- The country’s exposure to high sever-
increase in 2021.” jectives of the Singapore Green Plan ity earthquakes, floods, and storms has
2030. Increasing underwriting losses been a consistent driver for property
In line with the industry trends, the
combined ratio of the top five motor due to high accident rates and motor insurance in the country.
insurers in Singapore decreased in insurance frauds will continue to pose With 26% of the region’s written pre-
2020. The combined ratio of a challenge for insurers profitability mium, China is the second-largest prop-
over the next few years.”
Singapore’s largest insurer NTUC In- erty insurance market. Agriculture in-
come decreased from 96.5% in 2019 to surance is the major growth driver for
91.7% in 2020, whereas for the second Property insurance in Asia- property insurance in China and ac-
ranked AXA it declined from 107.2% in Pacific to reach $137.5bn counted for over 50% of the property
2019 to 92.0%. insurance premiums. The uptake of
in 2025 agriculture insurance has increased
Sahoo continues: “In 2021, growth in
vehicle sales, driven by economic re- The property insurance industry in due to its availability at a subsidized
covery and growing demand for elec- Asia-Pacific (APAC) is projected to grow premium rate with support from the
tric vehicles (EVs), is expected to help from $85.8bn in 2020 to $137.5bn in government.
insurers in partially offsetting their 2025, in terms of written premiums, Along with the demand from agricul-
underwriting losses. EV sales in according to GlobalData, a leading ture, insurance to cover large-scale
data, and analytics company.
Singapore grew by 127% during Janu- ongoing projects such as one-belt-one-
ary-November 2021.” GlobalData’s insight report, ‘2021 Glo- road and renewal energy projects
bal Property Insurance Market’, re- aided in the growth of property insur-
Insurers are also adopting technology
to increase sales. This includes imple- veals that the property insurance in- ance in China.
mentation of AI-based solutions to dustry in Asia-Pacific will grow at a Australia, India, and South Korea with
launch innovative products such as compound annual growth rate (CAGR) a collective share of 30.8% were
short-term insurance and pay-as-you- of 9.9% over 2020-2025, supported by among the top five markets in the
go pricing system, which makes insur- the increasing demand for insurance APAC region in 2020. In India, agricul-
against natural hazards and commer-
ance flexible, affordable, and transpar- ture and fire insurance are key lines of
cial developments.
ent for customers. This is done by in- property insurance with agriculture
stalling a telematics device in the ve- Kotu Keerthi Naimisha, Insurance Ana- accounting for over 60% of the prop-
hicle that tracks the kilometers driven lyst at GlobalData, comments: “Asia- erty insurance premiums in 2020. Pre-
and the premiums are charged as per Pacific’s exposure to high severity natu- mium collection from this business line
the usage. ral-catastrophes (Nat-cat) in the last is expected to be impacted by the 2020
few years has resulted in strong regulation, in which the government
The use of technology for detection of
awareness and demand for property withdrew the provision of mandatory
fraudulent claims is another focus area
insurance. Premium growth is also insurance to secure agriculture loans.
for the insurers. According to the Gen-
driven by a consistent increase in insur-
eral Insurance Association of Naimisha concludes: “Economic
Singapore, around 20% of motor insur- ance prices across the region since growth and growing demand from
ance claims are inflated or fraudulent. 2017, resulting from heavy Nat-cat agriculture industry will support de-
Major insurers in the country are ex- losses, a trend that is expected to con- mand for property insurance in APAC
ploring solutions to leverage technol- tinue in 2022.” region over the next five years. Prod-
ogy for improving their fraudulent Commercial expansion and infrastruc- uct development for affordable Nat-
claim detection processes. For in- ture development, along with regula- cat insurance will be another focus
stance, NTUC Income has introduced tory support to develop sustainable area for insurers over the coming
‘Orange Eye’ mobile application to property insurance products, have pro- years.”

The Insurance Times, January 2022 17