Insurance agent hiring in Hong Kong hits record high

Data from the Insurance Authority showed that the number of insurance sales staff in Hong Kong was at a record high of 129,939 by the end of May.

While insurers’ income from mainland Chinese visitors had been tapering off over the past few years, COVID-19 restrictions have caused travel to come to a virtual standstill, further weakening a vital revenue stream for Hong Kong-based insurers. This resulted in new business from mainland Chinse visitors dropping by 98{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} for the first quarter of 2020.

In 2019, sales to mainlanders made up 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} of new life business in Hong Kong. This figure dwindled to just 0.3{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} for the first three months of this year.

However, local sales received a boost, with total sales of life insurance policies growing by 16{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to HK$40.7 billion (SG$6.94 billion), thanks to increased hiring, especially of sales personnel. Sales of investment-linked life policies saw annual growth of 153{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} for the quarter.

According to Edward Moncreiffe, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, these developments show a healthy local insurance market.

“This shows there is still a lot of appetite from many Hongkongers to take control of their own investment decisions within the security of a long-term insurance policy,” Moncrieffe, who is also Hong Kong CEO of HSBC Life, told SCMP.

Once Hong Kong’s vaccination efforts start bearing fruit and cross-border travel becomes less of a hassle, Moncrieffe expects mainlanders to return to Hong Kong to buy insurance due to the market’s “best-in-class products and services.”