A steady increase in the value of life policy claims during the nine months to 30 June has been identified by the FSC in its latest quarterly snapshot of industry data.
Its chart for the second quarter of the year shows little change in most figures for life insurance with 4.1m covers in place – unchanged from the previous quarter. However, annual premiums are sitting at $3.11bn – a slight increase on the 31 March figure of $3.07bn.
Interestingly, the overall increase is set against a slight reduction in population, there’s 50,000 fewer New Zealand residents compared to the first quarter according to Statistics NZ. It states there was a provisional net migration loss of 34,800 New Zealand citizens in the June 2023 year.
The FSC table also shows a slight increase in TPD, trauma, and life cover premiums over the previous quarter.
As for claims, while the last two quarters of 2021 saw the total value of claims was steady, there was a noticeable drop in the March 2022 quarter. However, claim payouts have – with the exception of a spike in September 2022 – steadily returned to 2021 levels.
Below: Second quarter life insurance 2023.
Below: First quarter life insurance 2023.
