Impact on Policyholders - when a life insurance company makes profit (surplus), it is supposed
to distribute a part of that profit to its policyholders, in the form of bonus
payments and/or dividends. When a life insurance
company makes loses - life insurance policyholders will stand to receive less
benefits (Bonus/Dividend) compared to the sales illustration (projection). Life
insurers losses will have the greatest impact on non-guaranteed benefits
including Bonus and Dividend.
Dividend - participating policies are usually conventional policy
that pays dividends. The dividend is a portion of the insurance company's profits that are paid to
policyholders (as if you were an investor or stockholder).
Bonus - refers
to an extra payment received over and above the assured income. In life
insurance, the concept of bonus is somewhat similar. One is entitled to the
amount of sum assured (expected income) and over and above that there may be
bonus payments. Various types of Bonus in
the policy will be affected including - Simple
Reversionary Bonus, Compound Reversionary
Bonus, Interim Bonus (premature death) and Terminal Bonus (policy
matures).
Top Life Insurers - over a 10-year period
from 2006 to 2015, the average annualised net investment returns showed that
AIA Singapore, Great Eastern Life and Prudential Singapore had the most number
of top quartiles (top 25 per cent) of the 10 major life players in the market
(source - Life Insurance Association Singapore).