KUALA LUMPUR: New business premiums in life and general insurance industry recorded double-digit growth in the first half (1H) of 2024, exceeding RM20 billion, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.
He said the family takaful and general takaful industry also experienced the same strong growth to total contributions of over RM7 billion.
Abdul Rasheed said he is confident that the industry is well positioned to navigate formidable opportunities and challenges ahead.
"No doubt, the industry's experience in recent years in driving reforms in the areas of medical protection and motor cover have indeed been encouraging. "Yet, although we have charted great progress towards ensuring sustainability of coverage and fostering innovation, there is still a lot of work to be done for us," he said in his speech at the rebranding event of Malaysia Insurance Institute (MII) as Asian Institute of Insurance (Aii).
Also present at the event were Aii chairman Antony Lee, Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) president Raymond Lew, Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) chairman Ng Kok Kheng.
Commenting further, Abdul Rasheed urged the insurers and takaful operators to expand their capacity and prepare to narrow critical protection gaps and strengthen financial safety nets by adapting and innovating in several areas.
He said industry players need to capitalise technology and digital innovation to close the coverage gap, including Internet of Things (IoT) or artificial intelligence (AI) for richer data and automation to significantly enhance the accuracy of underwriting assessments, in turn, supporting better cost control and transparency.
Abdul Rasheed added that they need to augment protection with prevention, creating a more inclusive insurance ecosystem by enhancing financial and digital literacy, as well as ensure that their offerings resonate with diverse communities and contribute to sustainable economic growth of the region.
"We cannot overlook the importance of public-private collaboration in these areas. The synergy created from such partnerships can strengthen the contributions from the insurers and takaful operators."
"These could take the form of development of sophisticated risk transfer solutions that can manage large-scale and emerging risks that are beyond the capacity of individual institutions," he said.
Abdul Rasheed said Bank Negara Malaysia is actively laying the foundation for a competitive, efficient and inclusive protection landscape.
He said that this involves driving meaningful initiatives to modernise the existing regulatory framework, making it more principles-based while opening avenues for insurance and takaful operators to innovate and test new solutions. "Guided by the principles of parity, proportionality and neutrality, we have refreshed our Regulatory Sandbox and introduced the Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Insurers and Takaful Operators. "These steps are designed to help the industry deliver strong and meaningful value propositions that support the goals of inclusion, competition and efficiency," he added.