Gross written premiums (GWP) by the Lloyd’s Asia Scheme, including both direct and reinsurance business, were broadly unchanged in 2025 after four consecutive years of strong growth, according to data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), compiled and analysed by (Re)in Asia.
Total gross premiums edged down 0.01% year-on-year to S$1.50bn (US$1.15bn), ending four consecutive years of growth, during which annual increases ranged from 7% to 17%.
Total gross claims settled, the amount paid out during the year, rose 8.53% to S$403.63m, after a 23.69% fall in 2024. Annual payouts remain below pre-pandemic levels, though the figure can swing year to year with the timing of settlements.
Offshore portfolio contracts
The Scheme’s offshore portfolio, which accounts for the vast majority of premiums written, saw gross premiums decline 2.05% year-on-year to S$1.28bn.
Gross claims settled rose 9.62% to S$371.89m, after a sharp fall in 2024.
The two largest offshore lines, property and liability, accounted for the majority of the premium decline.
Property fell 5.16% to S$692.02m, while the “offshore liability and others” slipped 3.41% to S$313.15m. Together, the two lines accounted for almost four-fifths (78.6%) of total offshore premiums. While smaller in terms of premiums, aviation hull and motor recorded declines of 13.25% and 31.9%, respectively.
Engineering recorded the strongest growth of any offshore line, rising 93.94% to S$29.3m. Elsewhere, cargo premiums increased 11.56% to S$104.3m, with Marine hull remaining broadly stable, increasing 2%.
Domestic portfolio broadens
By contrast, Lloyd’s Asia’s onshore portfolio continued to expand in 2025, with gross premiums rising 13.82% to S$219.65m, more than double GWP in 2019.
Gross claims settled edged down 2.73% to S$31.73m; annual payouts have been lower since 2022 than in the 2019–2021 period.
Property was among the fastest-growing major lines within onshore, with premiums jumping 72.63% to about S$41m.
Credit and credit-related insurance also almost doubled, rising 89% to S$30.6m, while engineering more than doubled to S$2.11m from a small base.
The catch-all “others” category remained the largest single grouping, rising 12.63% year-on-year, while professional indemnity, the largest identifiable line, declined 8.6%. Together, they accounted for almost half the portfolio, at 45.69% of onshore premiums.
Direct premiums slip, reinsurance edges higher
Splitting the same S$1.50bn book by type of business rather than by location tells a similar story of reinsurance dominance.
On direct business, gross premiums fell 2.93% to S$411.2m, while inward reinsurance premiums increased 1.14% to a record S$1.09bn, accounting for 72.56%.
The geographic mix of inward reinsurance shifted in 2025, tilting toward Singapore and international cedants, while business from the rest of ASEAN shrank.
Singapore, the fastest-growing source, was up 13.86% to S$91.81m, while premiums accepted from other ASEAN markets fell 16% to S$206.46m. Premiums accepted from markets outside Singapore and ASEAN rose 5.39% to S$789.1m, still close to three-quarters of all inward reinsurance.
Meanwhile, inward reinsurance claims settled rose 10.22% to S$333.62m, while direct claims settled were broadly unchanged, up 1.16% to S$70m.
Syndicates buy more reinsurance protection
Lloyd’s Asia Scheme syndicates also increased their use of outward reinsurance during the year.
Premiums ceded to reinsurers rose 20.59% to a record S$361.1m, far outpacing flat overall premiums and lifting the proportion of premiums ceded to 24.1%, from around 20% a year earlier.
The outward reinsurance portfolio was heavily international. Premiums ceded outside Singapore and ASEAN increased 11.27% to S$302.9m, accounting for roughly 84% of all outward reinsurance.
By contrast, cessions to Singapore and other ASEAN markets remained comparatively small, despite rising sharply to S$50.78m and S$7.41m, respectively.
The results came during a year of continued investment by Lloyd’s in Asia.
In 2025, Lloyd’s Asia launched a five-syndicate regional cyber facility for large and complex risks, offering up to US$20m in excess-of-loss capacity.
Speaking at the Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) later in the year, CEO Patrick Tiernan said Asia would remain central to Lloyd’s global strategy, with the market focused on attracting more regional underwriting expertise and expanding speciality risk capabilities across the region.
