Zurich Financial Services plans to boost life insurance business in Singapore

Zurich Financial Services plans to boost life insurance business in Singapore
By Wong Siew Ying | Posted: 12 December 2011 1856 hrs

SINGAPORE : Zurich Financial Services plans to double its life insurance premiums generated in Singapore over the next three years.

The company has made an application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a full subsidiary licence for its life insurance business.

Giving an update on its business, the insurance company says the licence will allow it to tap into the other 95 per cent of the life insurance market in Singapore.

Currently, Zurich Financial Services serves mainly large corporates, high net worth individuals and the expatriate community due to licensing restrictions.

Regulations only permit the company to service clients who has the ability to invest at least US$5,000 per annum over ten years.

Next year, it hopes to roll out more insurance solutions for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, such as savings and retirement offerings.

Zurich Financial expects emerging markets to contribute about half of its new life insurance business by 2013.

Emerging market operations currently account for about 26 per cent of group's new life insurance business, before including recent acquisitions in Latin America and Malaysia.

Overall, Zurich Financial Services booked a US$4.9 billion in business operating profits in 2010.

Martin Senn, CEO, Zurich Financial Services, said: "A year ago, we have set a target for new business value for the life business of 30 per cent for all emerging markets. That was a target we wanted to achieve by end 2013. We are now very close to that, there is high expectation that we will exceed that target by 2013 and Asia will be somewhere in the area of 20 per cent participation of that target."

- CNA/ch

- wong chee tat :)