Hong Kong's annuity premiums doubled last year to HKD 9 billion, with increased incentives driving policy numbers to exceed 16,000

The Hong Kong Annuity Scheme benefited from a large backlog of applications due to the promotional offers for 2024, with sales remaining strong last year. According to documents submitted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to the Legislative Council, the number of policies sold under the Hong Kong Annuity Scheme reached 16,519 last year, a year-on-year increase of 52.5%; the total premium involved was HKD 9 billion, soaring 100% year-on-year, setting a new record; the average premium rose by 15.1% to HKD 610,000. Total Annual Premium Reaches New High Annuity companies responded to Sing Tao Daily, stating that they had largely completed processing all applications related to the annuity promotional offers in the first half of last year. The business of lifetime annuities continued to rise steadily in the second half of the year, with the total premium recorded for the year reaching a new high. 2024 to Promote 25% Bonus with Backlog of Over 10,000 Applications from Last Year The Hong Kong Annuity Scheme, aimed at the elderly, launched a 25% bonus on the first HKD 300,000 of new insurance premiums from the end of April to the end of December 2024, which led to a surge in applications for the annuity scheme, resulting in a backlog of over 10,000 applications to be processed in 2025. Senior executives of the annuity company previously stated that the number of applications processed in the first five months of last year exceeded 10,000, with 70% being backlogged applications from 2024 and 30% being new applications, involving a total premium of HKD 4.6 billion, surpassing the total figure for the entire year of 2024. Mortgage Insurance Applications Decrease by 23% Last Year Additionally, the documents indicated that in 2025, approximately 15,800 mortgage insurance plan applications were approved by the mortgage insurance company, representing a year-on-year decline of 23%. Since August 2024, the mortgage insurance company has considered approving qualified owners to rent out their self-occupied properties on a case-by-case basis, with about 2,530 such applications approved by the end of last year. As for the credit guarantee products under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, approximately 5,800 applications were approved, involving an amount of about HKD 13.5 billion, a slight year-on-year decrease of 4%