Lifebroker: A Bright Spot for Insurance Life Risk Sales

The life insurance sector has been a bright spot in a landscape in which other segments of the insurance industry have been unable to generate significant growth during the year ending September 2011.

In its December report on the state of the market as of September 2011, DEXX&R reported that both new premiums and in-force premiums had grown significantly. New annual premiums amounted to $2.2 billion, an increase of 11.05%. In-force premiums grew at a slightly lower rate of 10.92% to an annual total of $9.6 billion.

Group Risk was the strongest segment of the market during the reporting period, with noteworthy increases in both new and in-force business. In-force premiums grew 13% to a total value of $3.21 billion, while new premiums amounted to $775 million, an increase of 15%.

DEXX&R calculated changes on a per-company basis for the top five insurers in each sector. While cautioning readers that "significant fluctuations can occur from quarter to quarter in reported group new premium" because of the timing of large payments by industry funds on the group level, the DEXX&R report noted an especially robust showing by MetLife in new premiums in the Group Risk category. MetLife's new premiums rose 566%, resulting in a market share of 19.6%, putting MetLife in second place behind the 31.3% share attributed to AIA Australia. The remaining three companies in the top five all suffered decreases in new premiums and in market share.

With an increase of 40.8% and a 25.8% market share, AIA Australia demonstrated the greatest change in in-force Group Risk premiums among the top five companies. Tower, with an increase of 15.3%, was second in market share at 18.3%.

The combination of AMP and AXA have put the company in first place in both new and in-force premiums in individual lump sum business. In-force premiums rose 72.5% and new premiums rose 91.2%, giving AMP/AXA market shares of 19.4% and 18.6% in those areas respectively.

In terms of total risk business, including individual lump sum, disability and group risk, AMP/AXA was first in market share, capturing 16.5% and 14.3% of the in-force and new business markets respectively.

DEXX&R notes that 2011 marks the first year that new business in the individual lump sum segment of the market exceeded $1 billion.