Singapore’s life insurance sector achieved record performance in the first half of 2025, generating nearly S$3 billion in new business premiums as annual policy uptake surged by 22% compared to the same period last year.
The Life Insurance Association Singapore announced yesterday that the industry recorded S$2.99 billion in weighted new business premiums between January and June 2025, marking a 7.7% increase from the previous year.
According to the report, annual premium policies drove the growth, with weighted new business premiums rising 22% year-on-year. However, single premium policies declined 21.3% over the same period.
Investment-linked policies continued leading industry expansion, with weighted new business premiums climbing 31.3% from S$975 million in the first half of 2024 to S$1.28 billion in 2025. These policies now account for 43% of total new business.
“The continued growth in annual premium policies and ILPs demonstrates Singaporeans’ focus on long-term financial planning and security,” said Wong Sze Keed, president of LIA Singapore. “This trend is supported by renewed optimism as Singapore’s economy posted a strong 4.3% year-on-year growth in Q2 2025, outpacing Q1 figures.”
Financial advisers representatives secured the largest share of business, achieving S$30.4 billion in sum assured during the first half of 2025, representing 42.6% of the total S$71.4 billion sum assured across the industry.
While total premiums and sum assured increased, the number of policies dropped 18.6% from 711,922 to 579,343, suggesting consumers are purchasing fewer but more comprehensive policies.
Integrated Shield Plans remained popular, with approximately 69,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents taking up new plans in the first half of 2025. Total coverage now protects 2.99 million lives, about 72% of Singapore residents.
Individual health insurance premiums reached S$373.7 million, a substantial 69.3% increase from the previous year. Integrated Shield Plans and rider premiums comprised 89.9% of this amount.
The industry paid out S$6.35 billion to policyholders and beneficiaries between January and June, with S$5.32 billion for matured policies and S$1.03 billion for death, critical illness or disability claims covering more than 10,900 policies.
Bank representatives led distribution channels by weighted premium at 35.5%, followed by FA representatives at 33.3% and tied representatives at 27.8%.
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