Zurich surpassed China Taiping Insurance to become the third largest General Insurer in Hong Kong based on gross written premiums (GWP), according to data from the Insurance Authority.
Zurich captured third place from CTP (HK), however, while Asia Insurance finished fifth, the firm was only marginally behind both following a 36% surge in GWP. Meanwhile, AXA General and Bupa continued to lead the market, holding first and second place, respectively.
2023 saw stable growth in premiums across general insurers but amid a significant rise in claims.
Highlighting the challenges, AIG reported a three-time increase in claims paid compared with the year prior. This jump underlines the challenges the industry faced last year, with Hong Kong’s general insurers seeing underwriting profits drop by over 80% to HK$846m (US$108m), mostly related to property and health lines of business (see data story below).
Super Typhoon Saola led to HK$361m (US$45.8m) in insurance claims, while serious flooding related to a record-breaking flash rainfall in September 2023 led to about HK$1.9bn (US$241.3m) in claims. The rising latent medical claims and the full resumption of economic activity following the COVID-19 pandemic led to losses in the direct accident and health (A&H) lines.
Nonetheless, the general insurance industry of the Special Administrative Region saw its premiums rise steadily, including some notable performers.
AXA General and Bupa have been the largest providers of non-life insurance in Hong Kong for years and both retained their top spots, with AXA General reporting HK$4.8bn in GWP and Bupa HK$4.1bn.
In 2022, China Taiping Insurance saw respectable GWP growth of 6.7%, reaching HK$2.893bn. However, Zurich Insurance’s 12.8% increase meant the Swiss-headquartered insurer took third place, with HK$2.9bn in GWP.
However, Asia Insurance was not far behind, finishing with HK$2.794bn for the year. More notably, the insurer saw its GWP surge from HK$2.054bn in 2022 — a significant 36% increase.
Rounding out the top 10 list were AIA International, BOC Group Insurance, Chubb Insurance, XL Insurance, Generali, HKMCI and AIG Insurance HK — with very little separating BOC in sixth and AIG in tenth.
These top 10 accounted for 41.5% of the total HK$67.3bn in GWP generated in Hong Kong for general insurers.
All told, Hong Kong insurers earned almost 4% more in GWP in 2023 compared to a year earlier and 21% more than in 2019.
Net earned premiums
AXA General and Bupa also took the top spots in terms of net earned premiums in 2023.
AXA General earned HK$4.18bn through the year, up from HK$3.8bn in 2022 and HK$3.27bn in 2019. Bupa has also seen a steady progression in terms of net earned premiums every year over the past five. The company earned HK$3.93bn in 2023, up from HK$3.29bn a year earlier and HK$3.21bn in 2019.
China Taiping, which came in third place in 2023, has had a more difficult time over the past five years, while CIGNA Worldwide, Zurich, and Asia Insurance all gained ground. This has been even more evident in 2022 and 2023, where the amount of business generated by these three increased significantly.
China Taiping retained third spot for net earned premiums, but only just – generating HK$1.89bn in 2023, up 5.3% from 2022. CIGNA generated HK$1.88bn, up a huge 31.7% from a year earlier – the largest year-on-year gain among the top 10 insurers. Zurich meanwhile gained 15% YoY to HK$1.72bn.
The remaining top 10 insurers were Asia Insurance, BOC Group Insurance, AIA International, Liberty International, and HKMCI.
Across the industry, Hong Kong’s general insurers reported HK$41.6bn in net earned premiums through 2023, up 2.8% from a year earlier and 14% up from 2019.
Gross claims paid
The general insurance sector as a whole experienced a spike in gross claims, driven by the property and accident and health lines of business.
Not surprisingly, Bupa and AXA General took the top two spots for gross claims paid. However, while Bupa paid out HK$3.3bn, AXA paid only HK$2.8bn. The former saw a 7% increase in gross terms for 2023 compared to 2022. However, AXA General saw an 11% drop, while its gross premiums jumped by 8.7%.
It was AIG Insurance Hong Kong, however, that reported the biggest increase of gross claims paid, which jumped 208% between 2022 and 2023. For AIG, that reversed a significant drop the year earlier, when the company’s gross claims paid fell 50% from HK$910m to HK$459m.
AIG Insurance came in fourth place, behind AIA International. The rest of the top 10 were CIGNA Worldwide General, CTP (HK), Zurich Insurance, Asia Insurance, BOC Group Insurance, AXA China (HK) and Blue Cross. Only AXA General and CTP (HK) reported drops in gross claims paid.
All told, Hong Kong general insurers reported HK$32bn in gross claims paid through 2023, up 6.4% from a year earlier and a reversal from the 4.75% drop reported in 2022, when gross claims paid added up to HK$30bn.
