Taiwan’s insurance industry saw a remarkable surge in earnings in December 2024, with profits soaring to $10.3 billion (NT$341.5 billion), marking a 248.1% increase compared to the previous year. Life insurers were the primary contributors, accounting for 92.4% of the total profits, according to data released by the Insurance Bureau.
The life insurance sector experienced a massive year-on-year growth of 291.4%. Meanwhile, non-life insurance companies reported a pre-tax profit of $780 million (NT$26 billion), reflecting a 48.6% increase from 2023.
The owners’ equity for the entire insurance industry stood at $82.113 billion (NT$2,737.1 billion). Of this, life insurers held $77.6 billion (NT$2.6 trillion), marking a 15.2% increase, or $10.2 billion (NT$340.4 billion), from the previous year. Non-life insurers saw their owners’ equity rise to $4.5 billion (NT$151.1 billion), up by $699 million (NT$23.3 billion), or 18.2% year-over-year.
Despite the strong earnings, Taiwan’s currency, the New Taiwan dollar, depreciated by 6.24% against the US dollar in 2024. This exchange rate movement had an impact on insurers’ foreign exchange reserves, with life insurers’ foreign exchange valuation reserve rising to $6.6 billion (NT$219.6 billion), an increase of $3.8 billion (NT$127.6 billion). This included a one-time reserve adjustment of $1.1 billion (NT$35.4 billion) as part of a new mechanism.
However, the combined effects of foreign exchange fluctuations, hedging activities, and reserve volatility led to a net loss of $9.1 billion (NT$302.9 billion). Despite this, life insurers saw positive returns from their overseas investments, generating net gains of $25.5 billion (NT$848.2 billion), excluding the effects of foreign exchange reserve volatility.
(Note: The exchange rate used is $1.00 = NT$32.85.)
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