INSURANCE RANKING Life insurers take the lead in latest Hong Kong Business Insurance Rankings

Some life insurers saw their assets surge by as much as 44% in 2021.

Inflation and consumer cutbacks

Inflation continues to pose challenges for both insurers and consumers.

For life and retirement insurers, this means increasing rates which can reduce reinvestment risk and make rate guarantees more cost-effective from an economic perspective, according to Billy Wong, Insurance Leader at PwC Hong Kong.

However, too sharp a rise in rates could introduce disintermediation risk, negatively impacting balance sheets. To mitigate this risk, insurers may need to frequently reset rate guarantees and pricing to respond to market pressure on book value guarantees.

Hong Kong’s insurance industry is undergoing a significant shift as the Hong Kong Business Insurance Rankings reveal a trend towards more life insurers joining the list of the top 50 insurers. This shift can be attributed to the opportunity in the Mainland China insurance market.

According to a report by GlobalData, despite the decline in demand from Mainland visitors in 2021 due to travel restrictions, a significant proportion of whole life insurance premiums came from Chinese visitors who purchased their policies from Hong Kong prior to the pandemic due to favourable terms and greater flexibility offered to them as compared to policies sold in China.

For the most recent rankings, a total of 30 life insurers made it onto the top 50 list, higher compared to 20 general insurers. This is different from the previous rankings when the top 50 list had an equal number of life and general insurers.

The Hong Kong Business Insurance Rankings is an annual list of the top 50 insurers in Hong Kong. It is based on data from the Insurance Authority’s statistics, with the most recent rankings using data from 2021 and comparing them to the 2020 data.

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The rankings revealed that the total assets of the top 50 insurers surged by 1.13% reaching $717b in 2021 compared to $706b in 2020. This is comparatively lower than the 9.75% increase last year, however, the increase in 2021 is due to a lower base caused by lockdowns during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holding the number one spot is AIA International, which saw its 2021 assets climb by 2.38% to $129b compared to $126b in 2020. Manulife (Intl) leapt from fourth to claim the second spot as its assets surged by 44.44% to $91b in 2021 compared to $63b in 2020.

Prudential (HK) Life, meanwhile fell to the third rank after its 2021 assets declined to $87b from $92b in 2020. China Life also went down one place as its assets decreased to $62b from $67b.

HSBC Life retained its spot at number five but saw its assets climb to $56b from $54b.

Out of all general insurers, BOC Group Insurance saw the biggest asset increase to $18b in 2021 from $4b in 2020. It also saw its rank rise from 23rd to 12th for this year’s rankings. Meanwhile, the list also saw newcomers to the top 50, with AIA Everest leading the way at $6b, ranking 16th amongst the top 50.

Higher interest rates may also make certain product types less appealing to consumers, Wong warned. A report by YouGov found that 14% of Asia Pacific consumers would cut back on insurance first when household budgets are tight. In Hong Kong, 16% said they would reduce spending on insurance.

Higher interest rates coupled with fluctuating equity markets may also make certain product types less attractive. Wong advised insurers to consider rebalancing portfolios, possibly moving back to more traditional investments and relying less on alternative asset classes.

Return of MCVs

The opening of borders in 2022 also saw the return of Mainland Chinese Visitors (MCVs). Most Hong Kong insurers rely on MCVs for the purchase of life insurance policies.

In the latest survey by the Insurance Authority, 81% of Hong Kong’s visitors from January to September 2022 were comprised of MCVs, leading to a 150% increase in new business premiums in H1 2022.

“Overall, GlobalData estimates Life GWP to grow by 4.5% in 2022. With Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiatives gaining momentum, higher M&A activity was seen in 2022. Insurers view GBA as a gateway to Hong Kong and China and will utilise this opportunity to expand their customer base. The inclusion of preferential treatment as part of Mainland-based insurers’ solvency regulation will encourage them to expand their business and cede more to Hong Kong-based reinsurers due to the availability of greater capacity. And this in turn will further develop Hong Kong as a reinsurance hub,” GlobalData Insurance Analyst Sravani Ampabathina said.

After-sales service centres

In 2022, the government of Hong Kong announced its decision to strengthen its status as a financial hub, including the insurance industry. One of the ways proposed to achieve this goal is by leveraging its status as part of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Given that most insurers in Hong Kong rely on MCVs, the government announced plans to build aftersales service centres in Nansha and Qianhai as part of the Insurance Connect initiative in the GBA. This makes it easier for Mainland China policyholders to make claims. In its initial phase, Insurance Connect first allowed the direct settlement of health claims at public hospitals in Shenzhen with Hong Kong and Macau insurers. It also enables Hong Kong insurers to establish customer service centres in the GBA.

PwC’s Billy Wong said that the establishment of insurance aftersales service centres in the GBA will greatly enhance Hong Kong insurers’ ability to service policyholders who live on the mainland.

“This would also be a significant milestone in the overall insurance development as set out in the GBA Outline Development Plan and for wider and deeper collaboration among the insurance players in the GBA,” he added.

Meanwhile, Erik Bleekrode, Head of Insurance at KPMG China & Asia Pacific, has a more restrained view of these centres as he believes it is still difficult to judge the impact of these centres until the Hong Kong regulators issue the next round of regulations and guidelines.

“Some insurers in Hong Kong without a China license had hoped that this would allow greater access to sell insurance in the mainland in the long term but that is not the case under current regulation,” Erik said.

Creating opportunities

Different challenges offered insurers a chance to innovate and adapt. According to Cecilia Chang, CEO of Generali Life Hong Kong and General Manager of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. Hong Kong, one of the most significant changes they went through was the severe drop in face-to-face interactions beyond the household.

Generali leaned on partnerships to continue to remain profitable, such as their bancassurance partnership with virtual bank, ZA Bank - a first of its kind in Hong Kong.

“Generali products and offerings were integrated into the ZA Bank app, streamlining a wide range of processes, from product discovery to contacting our insurance