Page 50 - Insurance Times December 2021

aside the order which was further challenged in the Na- tion no. 11 of the policy, the claim for extra Accident ben-
tional Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. efit was rightly rejected by the Corporation.

The NCDRC set aside the order passed by the State Com- "Since clause 3 of the said terms and conditions of the policy
mission. permitted the renewal of the discontinued policy, the ap-

The apex court said in the instant case, condition no. 11 of pellant-Corporation had revived the policy of complainant
the policy stipulated that the policy has to be in force when by accepting the payment of premium after the due date
the accident takes place. and paid Rs 3,75,000 as assured under the policy, nonethe-
less for the Accident benefit, the policy had to be in force
"In the instant case, the policy had lapsed on October 14,
for the full sum assured on the date of accident as per the
2011, and was not in force on the date of accident i.e. on
March 6, 2012. It was sought to be revived on March 9, said condition no. 11," the bench said.
2012, after the accident in question, and that too without The apex court said the accident benefit could have been
disclosing the fact of the accident which had taken place claimed and availed of only if the accident had taken place
on March 6, 2012," the apex court said in its October 29 after the renewal of the policy.
order. "The Court, therefore, is of the opinion that the impugned
The top court said apart from the fact that the complain- order passed by the NCDRC setting aside the order passed
ant had not come with clean hands to claim the add on/ by the Commission and reviving the order passed by the
extra Accident benefit of the policy, the policy in question District Forum was highly erroneous and liable to be set
was not in force on the date of the accident as per condi- aside," the bench said. T

General insurance industry in Singapore to reach $4.2bn in 2025

The general insurance industry in Singapore is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0%
from SGDb4.4bn ($3.2bn) in 2020 to SGD5.6bn ($4.2bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premium (GWP), forecasts
GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company.
According to GlobalData, resumption of economic activities, successful COVID-19 vaccination rollout programs, and
relaxation on travel restrictions are expected to support the general insurance industry in Singapore.
Manogna Vangari, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The Singaporean economy is expected to pose a
strong recovery in 2021 and grow by 7% following 5.4% decline in 2020. The general insurance industry is also ex-
pected to return to stable growth in 2021, after a flat growth of 0.2% in 2020, in line with the economic recovery.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Global Insurance Database reveals that motor insurance was the largest general insur-
ance line in Singapore with a GWP share of 25.8% in 2020. It is expected to grow by 1.2% in 2021 after stagnating
at 0.9% in 2020 due to restrictive traffic movements, and lower vehicle sales, that resulted in lower premium collec-
tion in 2020. Electric vehicles sales grew by over 80% during September 2020–2021, supporting the demand for
motor insurance.
Personal accident and health (PA&H) and property insurance were the second and third-largest general insurance
segments with a share of 19.0%, and 18.4%, respectively, in 2020.
PA&H insurance provided by general insurers is expected to grow by 3.4% in 2021, and 3.8% in 2022 supported by
demand for popular hospitalization insurance plan – Integrated Shield Plan (IP).
IP plans cover additional hospitalization expenses, and benefits such as costs of private hospitals, and wider choice
of specialist doctors, that are not covered in the universal government scheme known as MediShield Life. Currently,
around 67% of the population has an IP insurance plan, which is offered by seven insurance companies.
Property insurance is expected to grow by 7.0% in 2021 supported by a recovery in construction output, which is
expected to reach SGD28.0bn ($20.3bn) in 2021.
Vangari concludes: “Economic recovery and gradual opening of international travel are expected to revive the de-
mand for general insurance in 2021. The industry’s growth momentum will consistently pick up over the next five
years aided by product innovation, digitalization, and infrastructure development projects.”

50 The Insurance Times, December 2021