How will soaring home prices reshape Singapore’s insurance market?

Private rents may rise by as much as 2%. whilst home prices are seen increasing 2% to 4%.

Singapore’s property insurance market is projected to grow 6.3% this year, supported by firm property prices and steady development activity, according to GlobalData Plc.

Gross written premiums are expected to rise 6.4% annually to $1.2b by 2030, it said in an October 2025 report.
Property insurance accounted for 19% of Singapore’s general insurance premiums in 2025, making it the third-biggest line of business.

Residential property activity remains a key driver. Demand for Housing and Development Board resale flats and private home upgrades is expected to persist into 2026, lifting sums insured and widening coverage needs, GlobalData said.

Private residential sales rebounded sharply last year after three years of subdued activity. Developers sold 10,815 units, a multi-year high, according to CBRE Research’s 2026 Singapore Real Estate Market Outlook.

Sales momentum was uneven. Transactions slowed in the second quarter amidst global uncertainty and shifts in US trade policy, before recovering in the second half as domestic interest rates fell. Pent-up demand and a strong launch pipeline supported take-up, with several projects nearing sell-outs over launch weekends.

CBRE said newly completed projects would widen tenant choice, though leasing periods might lengthen as tenants become more selective and landlords compete for occupiers.

It forecasts private rents to rise by as much as 2% in 2026, whilst home prices are seen increasing 2% to 4%.

Growth is also being seen at the high end of the market. GlobalData said property transactions valued at $5m and above rose more than 20% in the third quarter of 2025 from a year earlier, with average unit prices near $10 million.

That trend is driving demand for higher-limit home policies and customised coverage for high-net-worth buyers.

Regulatory changes are shaping insurance demand. In July 2025, Singapore extended the minimum property holding period from three to four years and raised seller’s stamp duty across all tiers. GlobalData said longer holding periods are likely to support demand for comprehensive home insurance, rather than short-term fire-only policies.

Digital distribution is also gaining ground. Online policy purchases are expected to rise through 2026 as insurers speed up underwriting and claim processing. Some rental platforms have begun bundling basic home insurance into leasing packages, covering contents and renovations and addressing coverage gaps among tenants.

Rising risk awareness is adding to demand. Residential fires increased 8.6% last year to 1,051 cases, according to Ministry of Home

Affairs data. The rise has highlighted limits of mandatory HDB fire insurance, which covers structural damage but not household contents.

GlobalData said insurers that expand digital and embedded distribution and shorten claim turnaround times are likely to capture a bigger share of growth in Singapore’s property insurance market over the rest of the decade.

Questions to ponder: