Brunei

Axco provides details on the life insurance sector including Bruneian market participants, reinsurance and distribution channels. The reports describe classes of business from both individual and group life such as whole life, endowment, term life and unit-linked.
Information on non-life classes for example critical illness and private medical insurance.

The report describes the public and private healthcare system in Bruneian, the scope of cover, accessibility financing and provides an analysis of how the public and private systems complement each other.

Axco reports on the three pillars of Bruneian pension provision.

• State pension benefits including benefit calculations and eligibility criteria 
• Workplace pension provision; types of schemes calculations eligibility and; tax implications
• Voluntary individual pension provision, type of products and tax implications

The Brunei report provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory framework governing social security as well as details on financing and eligibility. Information includes but is not limited to

• state pensions,
• permanent disability benefit
• occupational accident and disease
• maternity and paternity payments 

Brunei's economy remains based on energy and the depressed price of oil has a direct negative effect on that sector. This, in turn, impacts on the government's revenues and has a knock-on effect on local companies and individuals, resulting in little or no growth of the insurance exposure base.

Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has had only a minor effect on the local insurance market in terms of claims, as there have been only a small number of infections, the wider economy has suffered. This has resulted in lower sales revenues for many local companies and consequent ....

The levels of benefits provided by the TAP provident fund (Employees' Trust Fund) and SCP, are such that very few private company pension schemes have been established and there is no private pension legislation. A separate scheme takes care of government employees.

Expatriate workers and, in some cases, senior local staff employed by foreign companies, are likely to be covered by pension plans placed offshore, having no impact on the domestic life market.

The state healthcare system is comprehensive and almost free: there continues to be little demand for individual private medical insurance (PMI). Most of those who do take out PMI cover are expatriates, who may prefer to look to Singapore or further afield for medical treatment.

In all, private healthcare plans are estimated to represent just over 1% of all private healthcare spending. Local sources suggest that most wealthy Bruneians who need private treatment prefer to pay for ....