AmGeneral Insurance expects its gross written premiums (GWP) to grow in the low single digits, amid a general slowdown in growth of the Malaysian insurance market.

According to the insurer, the industry’s slowing expansion is likely to affect the company’s results for the current financial year ending on March 31, 2019 (FY19).

“We see single-digit growth for FY19 of around 2%-3%, which is aligned with the industry particularly with the changes taking place after liberalisation,” AmGeneral CEO Derek Roberts was quoted as saying by The Malaysian Reserve during his speech at the launch of the company’s new motor and fire insurance products.

According to Roberts, the industry is still adjusting after detariffication of motor and fire insurance in Malaysia, and this would lead to slower growth compared to four to six years ago.

“Five years ago, industry growth was around 7% to 8%, but that came down to 1% to 3% in the last two years. We don’t see that necessarily growing significantly across the board this financial year,” Roberts added.

AmGeneral Insurance’s GWP for FY18 stood at MYR1.5 billion (US$373.7 million), driven by motor insurance products under its AmAssurance and Kurnia Insurans brands. Its motor insurance market share as of March 2018 was at 15.6%

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