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Locals take life insurance sales in Hong Kong to a record; Middle East, Southeast Asia rising

Life insurance sales rose to a record in Hong Kong last year, driven by purchases from local customers, while sales from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and mainland China picked up.

According to the Insurance Authority (IA), revenue grew 15.7 percent to HK$169.6 billion ($21.7 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, up from HK$146.5 billion in the same period in 2023. Mainland customers have adopted Hong Kong coverage to protect against the depreciating value of the yuan against the U.S. dollar, pushing the city’s sales to their highest levels since the founding of the IA in 2016.

“People from all over the world, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, are buying life insurance in Hong Kong,” Marty Lui, the IA’s executive director for long-term affairs, said at a media briefing. “An increasing number of visitors from the Middle East are purchasing policies in Hong Kong.”

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The authority will collect more data on the purchasing behavior and policies of these visitors to help formulate measures to promote sales and protect their interests, he said.

(L-R) Ocean Chiu, deputy director of general affairs, Insurance Authority, and Marty Lui, executive director of long-term operations, Insurance Authority, during a briefing at Wong Chuk Hang’s office on January 17, 2025. Photo: Enoch Yiu . alt=(LR) Ocean Chiu, associate director, general affairs, Insurance Authority, and Marty Lui, executive director, long-term affairs, Insurance Authority, during a briefing at Wong Chuk Hang’s office on January 17, 2025. Photo: Enoch Yiu.>

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“If data shows that more visitors from the Middle East are purchasing, we will have to issue educational materials in Arabic to raise awareness among customers and protect them,” Lui said. The IA will propose measures to prevent insurers from overestimating potential dividend payouts from their policies, and review the commission shared with sales agents, he added.

Revenue from mainland visitors fell 0.4 percent to HK$46.6 billion in the nine-month period from a year earlier. The data showed that mainland insurance buyers accounted for 27.6 percent of total life insurance and medical sales during this period.

“Over the past nine months, customers from 50 different markets have purchased policies from us, underscoring their confidence in our international brand, creditworthiness and quality products,” said Daisy Tsang, CEO of Hong Kong and Macau at HSBC Life.

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