AIA reports 8.1% decline in annual new business value

HONG KONG Asia-focused insurer AIA Group Ltd posted a 8.1 per cent decline in full-year new business value on Friday, as COVID 19 lockdowns in its main markets, China and Hong Kong weighed on insurance sales.

In 2022, the insurer's value of new business VONB, which measures expected profits from new premiums and is a key indicator of future growth, fell to $3.09 billion from $3.37 billion in 2021, according to a regulatory filing.

AIA's mainland China business posted a 17.3 per cent decline in VONB in 2022, a 17.3 per cent decline.

In the second half of 2022, new business momentum improved as the effects of the Omicron wave subsided and normal activities resumed.

In the first two months of 2023, the company has seen new business momentum in China return to positive VONB growth.

Growth in agency and partnership channels helped in the rise of VONB at AIA's Hong Kong business.

A large portion of sales booked in Hong Kong came from mainland Chinese visitors who wanted better products and overseas investment opportunities and crossed the border to buy insurance policies.

AIA has a final dividend of 113.40 Hong Kong cents per share, 5 per cent higher than a year ago.