Group premium rises filtering into bottom line
The group risk space has grown by almost a third in the last year, with the higher premiums put in place to offset salary and disability claims trickling into profit margins, new data shows.
Overall group risk insurers’ business shot up 28 per cent to $4.7 billion in the year to March 2014, with the charge still being led by TAL, which has a 28 per cent market share, according to Dexx&r.
TAL’s in-force group risk business grew by $494 million to $1.3 billion over the year, followed by Metlife, which jumped $244 million to $474 million, largely thanks to its Hostplus mandate, the data shows.
MLC also increased its business by 36 per cent, to grow from $312 million in March 2013 to $425 million in March this year.
Dexx&r expects the strong growth to continue, particularly following the announcement of further premium rises.
The group risk premiums paid by some of the industry funds have already increased by up to 40 per cent in the last year, according to the research firm.
Death, TPD and trauma products recorded no growth in the 12 months to March 2014, with sales mirroring those received in the year to March 2013, at $1.3 billion.
However, Zurich, Westpac Group and AIA Australia bucked the trend, each earning significant premium increases over the period.
Zurich’s business rose 25 per cent to $58 million, followed by Westpac Group, up 16 per cent to $143 million and AIA Australia, up 14 per cent to $67 million, according to Dexx&r.
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