Singapore’s general insurance market delivered a mixed performance in the third quarter of 2025, with stronger domestic results offset by weakening offshore business, according to data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, compiled and analysed by (Re)in Asia.
Total direct gross premiums, which exclude reinsurance numbers, inched up 1.6% year-on-year to S$2.83bn (approx. US$2.18bn), while claims fell 6% to S$1.16bn. The combination supported a 13.4% rise in underwriting profit to S$166.8m.
The onshore segment drove much of the market’s improvement, much like last quarter.
Domestic premiums rose 9.6% to nearly S$1.48bn, while claims fell sharply, down 9.6% to S$658.8m. As a result, onshore underwriting profits surged to S$73m, a 677% jump from a low base. However, this surge reflects a recovery from an unusual dip. Q3 2024 onshore underwriting profit was just S$9.4m, the lowest in the dataset.
Across business lines, onshore performance was uneven but showed clear leaders and laggards. Professional indemnity posted the strongest premium growth at 47% year-on-year to S$77.8m, followed by credit insurance, which climbed 34% to S$44.2m.
Personal accident and health, up 6.7% and 34% respectively, are increasingly emerging as a structural growth engine for Singapore’s general insurance market. This joint segment is on track to become the industry’s largest contributor and is projected to expand at a 7.7% CAGR between 2026 and 2030.
Aviation hull also surged 120% year-on-year to S$1.1m, though from a very small base and representing only 0.07% of the market, making the jump non-material in overall impact.
At the weaker end, cargo premiums shrank 11%, while employers’ liability fell 6% and surety slipped 3%.
Meanwhile, core segments such as property, engineering, and motor continued expanding at a healthy pace.
Offshore market shows strain
In contrast, the offshore segment posted a clear contraction.
Offshore premiums fell 5.8% year-on-year to S$1.36bn, while claims dipped only 0.9% to S$503.6m, offering little support to margins. As a result, underwriting profit fell sharply, down 31.9% to S$93.8m.
Offshore business-line results reveal the breadth of this slowdown. Motor saw the steepest decline at 34% to S$4.4m, while aviation hull contracted 24% to S$15.2m.
The most material contraction came from offshore liability and other speciality lines, which fell from S$394m to just S$340m, a 14% decline. Property premiums, the largest offshore class accounting for over half of the market share, fell 4.5% from S$735m to S$702m.
Only two offshore lines grew. Cargo went up 11%, and engineering slightly increased 4%. However, their gains were insufficient to offset declines in the segment’s largest contributors.
Singapore’s offshore business, dominated by large commercial and speciality risks written for overseas clients, remains highly sensitive to regional commercial insurance conditions. Marsh’s latest Global Insurance Market Index shows that commercial insurance rates across Asia fell 5% in the third quarter of 2025, with property and casualty rates dropping 5% and 3% respectively, while financial and professional lines recorded the steepest decline at 8%.
