Motor and fire segments rev up 2017 performance

KUALA LUMPUR: The general insurance sector continued to be resilient last year with a positive growth in the second half.

Motor and fire insurance were two classes of insurance that contributed positively to the growth, said General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) chief executive officer Mark Lim.

However, he said Aviation and Marine Transit Insurance (MAT) and Personal Accident Protection (PA) posted a double-digit drop.

“The general insurance industry posted a 0.1 per cent drop in gross written premium (GWP) of RM17.65 billion for 2017 compared with RM17.67 billion in 2016, with the growth momentum unchanged.

“The sector also earned a profit of RM1.05 billion from RM1.52 billion in 2016, a reduction of RM478 million,” Lim said after a media briefing, here, yesterday.

Also present were PIAM chairman Antony Lee, deputy chairman Chua Seck Guan, public relations and corporate social responsibility committee convenor Steve Crouch and Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia Bhd (VTREC) consultant and coordinator Mohd Yusof Idris.

Lim said of the GWP amount, motor insurance posted a 1.9 per cent growth of RM8.32 billion compared with RM8.16 billion (0.8 per cent growth) in 2016, due to a drop in new car sales below 580,000 last year.

“Fire insurance rose 4.2 per cent to RM3.41 billion, from RM3.27 billion in the previous year, making it the second highest insurance category that recorded growth,” he said.

Other insurance classes such as medical and health and others (bonds, liabilities, employment compensation) also rose by 7.1 per cent, or RM1.1 billion, and 0.2 per cent, or RM2.35 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lim said the liberalisation process of motor tariffs was now progressing well with the help of National Consumer Awareness Campaign.

Lim said PIAM had always been optimistic about the industry’s growth this year.

Although expected to be flat, the sector would be able to rise slightly at zero to three per cent, he added.

Fire insurance rose 4.2 per cent to RM3.41 billion, making it the second highest insurance category that recorded growth. MARK LIM PIAM CEO