Hong Kong sees first quarter surge in Life insurance sales

Life insurance sales in Hong Kong surged by 39% in the first quarter as a result of strong growth in the number of mainland Chinese visitors buying policies in Hong Kong as well as the impact of a world record policy sold by HSBC Life, according to Insurance Authority (IA) on 31 May.

New life insurance sales in the first three months rose to HKD65.3 billion (USD8.4 billion), up from HKD47 billion in the first quarter of 2023. New business premiums from Mainland visitors amounted to HKD15.6 billion, accounting for 24% of the total, up from HKD9.61 billion in Q1 2023.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) recorded a total of 11.2 million visitors to Hong Kong in the first quarter, which included 8.7 million from the mainland. Both figures were up more than 150% from Q1 2023. The HKTB posted whole-year visitor arrivals of 34 million in 2023, of which 27 million were from the mainland.

Last year, mainland Chinese visitors last year purchased HKD59 billion on life and medical insurance policies in Hong Kong, a substantial increase on the pre-Covid levels recorded between 2017 and 2019 of HKD43 billion to HKD51 billion.

In February, Guinness World Records confirmed that HSBC Life in Hong Kong had issued the most valuable life insurance policy ever sold. The whole-of-life protection policy, which will pay out USD250 million to the insured person’s named beneficiary after their death, was taken out by an individual customer earlier this year. It includes features aimed at protecting the individual’s wealth for future generations of the family.

The HSBC Life policy broke the previous record for a single life insurance policy of USD201 million, which was sold on the life of a US tech billionaire in California and certified in 2014.

“Sovereign has been working with a number of life insurance companies in Hong Kong by providing trust structures to ensure that funds can be distributed to beneficiaries in accordance to the wishes of the client,” said Sovereign Trust (Hong Kong) Managing Director Alan Fong.

“In more general terms, the substantial growth we are seeing in the insurance industry is further proof that Hong Kong’s economy is not only recovering but exceeding pre-Covid levels.”

In the past 12 months, HSBC Life said it had issued a further 10 life insurance policies valued at USD50 million or higher to individual customers.

“Asia is home to the fastest growing ultra-high-net-worth population in the world, and as such we are seeing a substantial increase in demand for insurance solutions to address business succession, estate management and legacy planning needs,” said HSBC Life Hong Kong CEO Edward Moncreiffe.

“The issuance of these high-value life insurance policies reaffirms Hong Kong’s position as both a preferred destination for wealth management and a leading international insurance hub. The Hong Kong life insurance market has deep talent pools across intermediaries, underwriters and actuaries, strong competition amongst international banks, brokers and insurers, well capitalised insurance companies with strong credit ratings and a sound regulatory regime.”