FWD Group Holdings Limited reported higher first-quarter new business volumes and value for the three months to March 31, 2026, with contributions from Japan, Southeast Asia, and its Hong Kong and Macau operations.
For the first quarter of 2026, FWD’s new business sales reached US$720 million on an annualised premium equivalent (APE) basis, a 4% increase compared with the same period in 2025. New business contractual service margin (CSM) rose 18% year on year to US$556 million, meaning value grew faster than headline new business volumes. Group chief executive officer and executive director Huynh Thanh Phong said the outcome reflects the company’s geographic spread and distribution set-up. “This is another strong set of results, reflecting our consistent track record of performance, growth, and the diversified pan-Asian footprint and distribution model of FWD Group,” Huynh said.
Huynh added: “Japan and our Expansion Markets in Southeast Asia were key drivers of growth, alongside another solid performance from Hong Kong SAR, despite the high base effect from a record first quarter comparison in 2025.” He set the quarter in the context of broader structural developments in the region. “At FWD Group, we have confidence over the long-term that the rising middle-class trend in Asia will continue, despite the near-term impacts of external shocks on economies and consumers in the region. The outlook for the high-net-worth segment, served by FWD Private, remains positive, particularly given the strength and confidence in financial hubs in the region like Hong Kong SAR where we are headquartered,” he said.
FWD said its Hong Kong SAR & Macau SAR reporting segment recorded growth against a record base in the first quarter of 2025, supported by domestic demand and business linked to Hong Kong’s role as a regional financial centre. In Japan, the group continued its mid‑2025 expansion into retirement and savings products, alongside its existing protection portfolio. The Expansion Markets segment – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam – reported higher new business, with contributions from broker and independent financial adviser channels and bancassurance partnerships.
In Thailand and Cambodia, FWD continued to prioritise what it describes as “quality new business,” against a backdrop of sustained low interest rates in Thailand. The group has appointed Khun Knattapisit “KK” Krutkrongchai as CEO, Thailand, effective May 11, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Across the region, FWD launched 11 new products during the quarter. The company linked product development to findings from its consumer outlook survey released in February 2026, which reported that most middle‑class consumers in Asia feel financially anxious and underprepared for retirement.
FWD’s new business data were released alongside first-quarter updates from other Asia-focused insurers, providing a reference point for scale and areas of focus. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China reported operating profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 40.78 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up 7.6% year on year. First‑year life and health premiums were RMB 66.34 billion, an increase of 45.5%, while new business value from life and health rose 20.8% to RMB 15.57 billion. Ping An’s figures reflect a life and health book far larger than FWD’s, with additional earnings from property and casualty and banking operations.
Prudential plc, which concentrates on Asia and Africa, reported new business profit of US$686 million for the first quarter, up 10% year on year, and APE new business sales of US$1.823 billion, up 6% on a constant exchange rate basis. The new business margin widened by 2 percentage points to 38%. By comparison, FWD’s 4% increase in APE and 18% rise in new business CSM show growth in value-based measures from a smaller base than Prudential and well below the volume scale of Ping An’s Chinese life and health franchise. All three groups, however, reported double‑digit gains in value-linked indicators – such as CSM, new business value, or new business profit – alongside demand for life, health, and longer-term savings products in their core markets.
India’s Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, a standalone health insurer, also reported results for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, although its financial year follows a different cycle. For the fourth quarter of FY26 (to March 31, 2026), Star Health posted standalone net profit of ₹111 crore, up from ₹50 lakh a year earlier, as net earned premium rose about 14% year on year to ₹4,327 crore. Profit in the quarter was lower than the ₹128 crore reported for the preceding quarter.
For the full FY26 year, statutory net profit was ₹557 crore, compared with ₹646 crore in FY25, while Ind AS net profit was ₹911 crore, which the company said represented 16% growth year on year. Management attributed the Ind AS result to premium growth, changes in renewal patterns, a lower loss ratio, and expense measures. Star Health also reported FY26 gross written premium of ₹20,369 crore, up 16% from the prior year, and said its combined ratio was 98.8%, compared with 101.1% a year earlier, with an estimated 31% share of India’s standalone health insurance segment. Unlike FWD, which focuses on life and savings and does not publish a combined ratio, Star Health’s key measures centre on underwriting results in health indemnity business and the relationship between claims, commissions, and expenses.
Across these disclosures, FWD, Ping An, Prudential, and Star Health report growth in areas that include protection, retirement, and health coverage, and they highlight metrics such as CSM, new business value, new business profit, and combined ratio as indicators of value and sustainability rather than volume alone. FWD’s 18% increase in new business CSM on 4% APE growth indicates that it operates as a mid‑sized regional player focused on life, savings, and high‑net‑worth segments, in contrast to Ping An’s large multi‑line domestic platform and Prudential’s wider Asian and African life and health franchise. Star Health is a health‑only insurer in India reporting higher premiums and changes in underwriting indicators in its core market. Taken together, the first‑quarter results suggest that, despite differences in business mix and regulation, major Asian insurers are placing attention on new business value, underwriting and expense outcomes, and adjustments to product and distribution strategies to address retirement funding and health coverage needs in the region.
