PETALING JAYA: The gross written premiums (GWP) for the local general insurance sector are expected to grow by 4% to 5% in 2025, aligning closely with the country’s projected gross domestic product growth, according to TA Research.
However, Allianz Malaysia Bhd
appears poised to outpace the market with a projected increase in GWP of at least 10%.
This robust growth is anticipated to be driven by strong performance in both the motor and non-motor insurance segments, said the research firm.
“Additionally, we anticipate the health loss ratio for investment-linked policies (for Allianz) to remain below 85% in the financial year 2025 (FY25), supported by ongoing cost containment efforts, reduced wastage and tighter controls aimed at curbing abuse,” TA Research said in its recent second quarter 2025 (2Q25) earnings review.
As for Tune Protect Group Bhd, its travel insurance segment is expected to maintain strong growth, underpinned by higher premium rates and improved uptake.
“The group is well positioned to benefit from the year-end travel peak season and fleet expansion by airline partners.
“Meanwhile, the motor segment is projected to see further improvement in its loss ratio over the coming quarters.”
Commenting on their 2Q25 earnings, TA Research said the insurance sector delivered a robust set of results, which meet expectations.
“Aggregate net profit for insurers under our coverage surged 41.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM222.5mil.
“Allianz reported a 28.2% y-o-y increase in net profit to RM214.0mil, supported by stronger contributions from both its life and general insurance segments.”
According to the research firm, this was driven by improved claims experience and higher investment returns.
Meanwhile, Tune Protect staged a turnaround, posting a net profit of RM8.5mil compared to a net loss of RM9.8mn in 2Q24, aided by the absence of large claims, a recovery in its travel insurance business and stronger investment income.
Notably, both companies also saw margin improvements.
Allianz’s combined ratio improved to 88% in 2Q25, from 90.1% in 2Q24, underpinned by lower claims in the fire and engineering segments, as well as a reduced health loss ratio.
Tune Protect’s combined ratio improved significantly by 13.6 percentage points to 94%, supported by a rising contribution from its travel insurance portfolio and more favourable claims experience in the motor and fire segments.
Following its 2Q25 results and a decline of about 12% in its share price year-to-date, TA Research had upgraded Allianz to “buy” from “hold”. It has a RM20.66 target price on the stock.
“Consequently, we also upgraded our stance on the insurance sector to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’.
“We forecast sector earnings to grow by 13.6% in 2025, reaching RM876.4mil.”
The research’s stock pick remains Tune Protect, seeing upside to 48 sen.
At the time of writing, the stock was trading at the 34 sen level.
The research firm expects Tune Protect to post a stronger performance in 2H25, driven by the travel insurance segment.
“We also anticipate the group to resume dividend payments in FY25, offering an attractive estimated dividend yield of 5%.”
