Great Eastern deepens strategy in wealthy segment, joining other insurers

SINGAPORE – Great Eastern is making a further push into the high-net-worth (HNW) segment with the launch of Great Eastern Private, which caters to wealthy individuals and their families across Asia.

Great Eastern, the insurance arm of OCBC, said in a media statement on March 3 that the new business unit will deliver a suite of solutions and services for clients looking to preserve their legacy for future generations.

Its new Private Client Privileges programme spans seven areas: next-generation leadership, family advisory and trust services, health and longevity, international tax advisory, legal advisory, philanthropy, and global lifestyle concierge services.

The move comes as Asia’s wealthy increasingly seek insurance products for legacy and succession planning purposes.

Manulife Singapore announced on Feb 24 that it had issued a life insurance policy worth $380 million on behalf of a single client, possibly the largest in Singapore and the region.

The sum assured surpassed a whole-of-life policy from HSBC Life in Hong Kong in February 2024, which has a payout of US$250 million (S$319 million) for a single wealthy client.

Mr Greg Hingston, group chief executive officer of Great Eastern, said high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are now shifting their focus to preserving and transferring their wealth. He described Great Eastern Private as a strategic move to invest in capabilities and services to meet this demand.

Mr Hingston had previously told the Straits Times in August 2025 that while the insurer is strong in the mass market and affluent segment, it sees the opportunity to go further up the value chain into the high-net-worth (HNW) space.

Great Eastern launched three products for succession planning in 2025, including Legacy Income, Index Universal Life and Prestige Wealth Legacy.

Dr David Kuo, co-founder of financial education site The Smart Investor, said that while other insurers have moved ahead in this market, “it is never too late if a company has the right product”.

Mr Terrence Wong, senior director of insurance ratings at Fitch Ratings, added that Great Eastern is “currently relatively underpenetrated” in the HNWI space.

He said that as part of the OCBC Group, Great Eastern can offer its suite of products to the bank’s affluent and private banking client base. The solutions range from financial planning and insurance advisory to investment-linked solutions and protection coverage, Mr Wong added.  

The relationship is bilateral as Great Eastern policyholders also gain access to the private banking capabilities of Bank of Singapore and the asset management capabilities of Lion Global Investors, both within the OCBC Group.

During Great Eastern’s results briefing on Feb 24, Mr Hingston acknowledged that more can be done for the insurer’s very wealthy individuals.

“We are not servicing (them) sufficiently,” he said. “We believe there is an opportunity for us to do a better job.”

Mr Hingston also emphasised that the pivot towards the wealthy clients does not mean that the insurer is moving away from the mass market and affluent segment.

“Just because we are going to be doing high-net-worth, it does not mean that we detract (from) or... we are not doing anything else,” he said.

“The fastest growing part of the markets, in Singapore and other key markets, has been the high-net-worth segment.

“We have not been as relevant as needed in that space, and given the growth opportunity, it’d be remiss not to grow into it,” he added.

Mr Hingston also touched on Great Eastern’s healthcare business.

Claims experience has improved in its main markets of Singapore and Malaysia, partly because the insurer now has a medical concierge service to steer clients towards the most appropriate care and treatment options. It has also curated a panel of medical institutions, including restructured hospitals and four private hospitals – Farrer Park Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital, Raffles Hospital and Thomson Medical Centre.

Mr Hingston said: “What we have now managed to do is to get the claims situation under control. I think we are going to continue to manage it that way.”

Healthcare is not expected to be a profit contributor to the business, he said.

“We need to make sure that it is not significantly loss making, which is where it has been historically.”

Great Eastern posted full-year earnings of $1.2 billion for the financial year ended 2025, an increase of 21 per cent from $995.3 million the year before.

In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, net profit rose 79 per cent year on year to $241.4 million.