Great Eastern Holdings has reported record FY-25 results, but beyond the headline figures, the group’s performance offers a useful lens for peers assessing product mix, capital deployment, and technology strategy across Asia’s life and health markets.

Performance signals versus regional peers

The insurer posted profit attributable to shareholders of S$1.21 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, up 21% year on year, with fourth-quarter profit rising 79%. While investment markets contributed, management emphasised that underlying fundamentals and disciplined capital management were primary drivers. That distinction matters for industry observers: several Asian carriers reported improved earnings in 2025 largely due to market performance, whereas Great Eastern’s results suggest a stronger balance between investment tailwinds and operating execution.

Total weighted new sales declined 15% for the year, reflecting a deliberate shift away from short-term single-premium business toward longer-duration policies. Analysts typically view such transitions as strategically positive but operationally disruptive. The fact that fourth-quarter new sales rebounded 5% indicates early stabilisation after the mix shift. New business embedded value rose 19% for the year and 25% in Q4, suggesting the strategy is improving margins even as volumes temporarily fall.

Distribution and product strategy in Singapore and Malaysia

Singapore remains the group’s largest market, with NBEV there rising 45%. Eighteen new products were launched during 2025, aimed at recurring-premium growth and longer policy lifecycles. For competitors, this underscores a wider regional trend: insurers are prioritising persistency and value metrics over top-line sales, partly in response to capital regime pressures and rising acquisition costs.

Service differentiation is also becoming a competitive lever. The company expanded its Great Medical Care Concierge to 24/7 support for treatment navigation and care planning. Similar concierge-style propositions are appearing across Asian health portfolios as insurers seek to control claims costs while improving customer retention.

In Malaysia, results were described as stable despite medical inflation and regulatory changes introduced in early 2025. The launch of “The Great Journey” network linking 85 hospitals and more than 1,000 clinics reflects a managed-care approach that some regional insurers are exploring to address cost escalation. The addition of Great Eastern Labuan broadened its platform for specialty and regional customers, illustrating how insurers are using offshore hubs to access niche segments and cross-border demand.

Technology deployment as an operating differentiator

The group expanded artificial intelligence tools across distribution, underwriting, and claims. Its advisory platform reportedly cuts preparation time for financial representatives by about 75%, from roughly two hours to 30 minutes per client. For peers, the operational significance is less about the specific percentage and more about the direction of travel: productivity gains in adviser-led models can materially change cost-to-income ratios and scalability.

Claims automation is another area of competitive comparison. Great Eastern’s in-house AI claims system accelerates processing while retaining manual oversight for complex cases, a hybrid approach widely viewed as best practice because it balances efficiency with risk control. In underwriting, pilot AI tools for complex risk assessment suggest a gradual shift toward decision-support rather than full automation.

The company also reorganised its Data & AI function and reported that it has already generated several internal tools. Such structural changes are often as important as the tools themselves, since governance and integration tend to determine whether AI delivers measurable underwriting or service improvements.

Capital strength and shareholder returns

The board has proposed a final dividend of 30 Singapore cents per share, bringing the total FY-25 payout to 55 cents including the interim distribution. On a pre-bonus basis, that equates to S$1.10 per share, 22% higher than the previous year. The insurer reiterated its intention to maintain or increase dividends annually barring unforeseen circumstances. For investors and competitors alike, progressive dividend guidance is typically interpreted as a signal of confidence in earnings sustainability.

Subsidiary capital adequacy ratios remained above regulatory minimums across markets. The group’s insurance entities hold “AA” strength ratings from Fitch Ratings and “AA-” from S&P Global Ratings, positioning them toward the upper end of the regional life-insurance capital spectrum.

Industry takeaways

Taken together, the results point to three themes relevant for insurers operating in Asia:

• Margin over volume – prioritising embedded value growth rather than headline sales is becoming a defining strategy among mature regional carriers.
• Service ecosystems – hospital networks, concierge services, and managed-care partnerships are emerging as competitive differentiators in health lines.
• Operational AI – insurers are moving from pilot projects to embedded tools that directly affect adviser productivity, claims speed, and underwriting consistency.

Rather than simply signalling a strong year for one carrier, the FY-25 performance illustrates how established insurers are repositioning for slower growth, higher medical inflation, and more capital-intensive regulation. For peers, the question is less whether these shifts will spread across the market and more how quickly.