KUALA LUMPUR: The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) continued to serve the region’s rapidly expanding insurance needs, with gross written premiums increasing by 2.2 per cent to US$1.4 billion.
Of the US$1.4 billion, 63.2 per cent was retained in Labuan, mainly driven by general reinsurance and captive premiums amounting to US$943 million and US$361 million respectively.
“In 2017, there were 14 insurance and insurance-related new set-ups in Labuan IBFC,” it said in a statement yesterday.
The contribution from foreign business increased to 60.9 per cent and it remained as a significant portion of the Labuan insurance sector’s business pie.
Fire risk insurance maintained its dominance with 36.7 per cent of the total premiums.
“The underwriting margin contracted to US$491.9 million due to the increase in catastrophe-related claims during the year, resulting in the overall claims increasing from 35.2 per cent to 63.5 per cent.
“As a result, the overall industry profitability moderated to US$170 million in 2017 as compared to US$387.3 million a year earlier,” it said.
Despite this, the Labuan insurance sector’s financial footing remained sound and stable with a strong solvency margin five times above the regulatory requirements, it added. — Bernama