Broker and financial adviser channels across Asia are capturing a growing share of life insurance distribution as client demand shifts from short-duration savings products toward wealth planning, retirement, and protection solutions. FWD Group Holdings Limited’s latest results illustrate the trend.
The Hong Kong-headquartered pan-Asian insurer reported a 22% year-on-year increase in new business contractual service margin (CSM), a measure of expected future profitability under IFRS 17 accounting standards, reaching US$1.4 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2026. Value of new business grew 18% to US$878 million.
New business sales reached US$1.95 billion on an annualised premium equivalent (APE) basis, defined as the sum of 10% of single premiums and 100% of annualised first-year premiums. All growth rates are on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis. The figures extend a trajectory visible in FWD’s half-year results, when margins rose 25% and net profit tripled.
Read more: Singapore’s financial adviser channel pulls ahead as FWD moves with it
FWD attributed the margin expansion to a change in product mix, particularly in Hong Kong, where medium-term endowment sales had featured heavily in the comparable 2025 period. The company said structural demand for protection and wealth management solutions continued to evolve.
The Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) reported total gross premiums for 2025 reached HK$827 billion, up 29.7%. Participating business, which includes savings and investment-linked plans, accounted for HK$282.8 billion of new individual office premiums, a 55.1% increase.
But a gap remains between what clients want and what they have arranged. A Sun Life Asia survey of 3,073 respondents across six markets in August 2026 found 85% of Hong Kong respondents intend to pass on wealth, yet only 10% have fully documented their plans. A T. Rowe Price survey of 600 Hong Kong residents in August 2025 found 40% had no retirement savings goal.
Clement Lam, chief executive officer of Sun Life Hong Kong, said the market “continues to create significant opportunities, driven by sustained demand for wealth planning solutions” and that “individuals and families continue to face protection and retirement planning gaps.”
Adrian Vincent, chief executive officer of FWD Singapore, offered a distribution-focused perspective in a July 2026 interview: “We recognised that as planning needs become more sophisticated, customers would need advice, not just access.”
FWD’s high-net-worth unit, FWD Private, is now active across cross-border wealth hubs including Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Switzerland.
Read more: Hong Kong broker channel dominates as wealth planning gaps grow
In Japan, FWD said a product strategy targeting savings and retirement solutions delivered growth in both new business sales and profitability. The company entered the Japanese savings and retirement segment in mid-2025.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 1.25% following a September 2026 hike, according to Trading Economics, and held it there at its October meeting. Rising rates have increased demand for yen-denominated savings products across the Japanese life market, opening distribution opportunities for intermediaries with retirement-focused propositions.
The expansion markets segment, covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, was driven by investment-linked product sales in Singapore, increased sales to affluent customers in the Philippines, and a growing digital channel in Malaysia.
FWD’s joint venture in Indonesia, BRI Life, continues to lead the Indonesian bancassurance market, the company said. Data from the Indonesian Life Insurance Association (AAJI), cited by The Jakarta Post, showed BRI Life recorded Rp 2 trillion in APE in the first half of 2025, with bancassurance accounting for 63.2% of its total.
The Allianz Global Insurance Report 2026, published by Allianz Trade, found that Asia excluding China and Japan was the insurance industry’s fastest-growing major region in 2025, with premium growth of 10.9% against a long-term average of 4.9%. More than half of the projected global premium pool growth over the next decade is expected to come from Asia.
Huynh Thanh Phong, group chief executive officer and executive director of FWD Group, said: “Disciplined execution, margin expansion, and diversification across our pan-Asian platform are driving profitable growth, as we continue to innovate for customers while delivering strong results to shareholders.”
FWD Group trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under stock code 1828 and serves over 40 million customers across 10 markets.
