Is insurance a sunset industry?

Too many insurance products and too much competition.
The insurance market is over saturated.
There are too many insurance agents.
Is insurance a sunset industry?


Common questions and statements whenever people talk about the insurance industry in Singapore.


So is insurance a sunset industry?
Not according to the latest statistics released by the Life Insurance Association of Singapore.



The life insurance industry in 2011 grew 22% year-on-year to register more than S$2 billion in weighted new premiums. ($2,007.4 million to be exact)


With banks now also selling insurance (known as bancassurance) are insurance agents becoming redundant?


Here is the breakdown of the distribution channel mix: The bulk of the business (49%) is still contributed by tied-agents. The bancassurance channel accounted for 34%, Financial advisers 14% and other channels including direct sales made up the remaining 3%.


As for what types of insurance products were sold, participating ("par") insurance products accounted for 52% of new sales while non-par insurance products accounted for 25%.  Investment-linked products made up the remaining 23%.




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Different insurance distribution channels in Singapore

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