General Insurance to see 7-10pc premium growth

The general insurance industry is expected to experience an increase in
gross written premium of between seven per cent and 10 per cent this
year.

General Insurance Association of Malaysia chairman Wong
Kim Teck said the growth would be largely attributed to medical, fire
and motor insurances.

"Last year, the gross written premium
showed a growth of 7.85 per cent to reach RM14.03 billion," he told a
press conference after officiating the General Insurance Agents
Convention (GiAC) 2012 today.

He said medical insurance formed
six per cent of the overall market premiums for last year, fire 16.5
per cent while motor accounted for 46.4 per cent.

Going forward, he said there would be continuous growth in the fire and motor classes of business.

"Despite
the challenges from bancassurance and direct selling by insurance
companies, insurance agents would remain the top distribution channel.

"Last
year, gross premiums that were distributed through agents made up to a
total of 61 per cent of the business, an increase from the 60 per cent
in 2010," he said.

GiAC 2012, organised by the Malaysian
Insurance Industry, is a one-day event to prepare local general
insurance agents to face challenges, get updates from the industry
experts and share their knowledge. -- BERNAMA