Nearly half of APAC insurers rank reporting as top compliance challenge

Only 5% of respondents rated regional compliance capabilities as weak.

Insurers across the Asia-Pacific region remain divided over how to manage regulatory compliance, with smaller firms focused on reporting demands, whilst larger firms are preparing for future regulatory changes.

The study found that 48% of insurers in the region consider meeting internal and external reporting requirements as their biggest compliance challenge, according to a Clearwater Analytics report. 

Firms with assets under management (AUM) between $1b and $10b were more likely to identify reporting obligations as their main concern, whilst larger firms with more than $10b in AUM prioritised adapting to changing regulations.

More than a third of respondents, or 35%, said adapting to regulatory changes was their biggest challenge, whilst 13% pointed to the difficulty of meeting different requirements across multiple regulatory regimes. 

The research surveyed insurance asset management executives from life, health and general insurers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, as well as executives from third-party investment firms working with life insurers.

Looking ahead over the next three to five years, 14% of respondents said meeting changing regulatory requirements across different markets would be “very difficult”, whilst 18% described it as “quite difficult”. In comparison, 10% said it would be “very easy” and 43% said “quite easy”.

Despite these concerns, most respondents expressed confidence in insurers’ current compliance capabilities. 

Around 37% rated insurers in the region as “excellent” in adapting to regulatory changes, whilst 55% described them as “very good”. Only 5% said insurers were “poor” or “very poor” in compliance capabilities.

Shane Akeroyd, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Asia Pacific at Clearwater Analytics, said the regulatory environment in APAC is creating “a tale of two markets”, with smaller firms struggling to manage current reporting requirements whilst larger firms are preparing for future regulatory developments. 

He added that insurers investing in integrated compliance systems are likely to gain an advantage as regulatory complexity increases across the region.

The study was commissioned by Clearwater Analytics and conducted by research agency PureProfile. It surveyed 150 senior executives in October 2025.