Manulife's Singapore deal dethrones the 2024 Guinness US$250 million life policy benchmark
A single life insurance contract in Singapore now carries a face value of US$300m, setting a new benchmark for ultra-large coverage in Asia’s wealth hubs, according to Bloomberg.
Manulife Financial Corp. sold the US$300m life insurance policy in Singapore, surpassing the previous record of US$250m set by HSBC Life in Hong Kong in 2024 and certified by Guinness World Records.
Manulife said the deal reflects growing demand from ultra-wealthy clients to preserve their assets.
According to Guinness World Records, the earlier US$250m policy from HSBC Life (International) Limited in Hong Kong SAR, China, was taken out by an individual customer “for wealth preservation and legacy planning” and was verified on 22 February 2024.
Guinness said the organiser believes “Asia is home to the fastest growing wealth population in the world” and that demand is rising for insurance to address “business succession, estate management and legacy planning needs.”
It added that the high-value policies show Hong Kong remains “a preferred destination for wealth management and a leading international insurance hub.”
Bloomberg reported that in Singapore over the past 12 months, Manulife has issued 25 individual policies, each worth more than US$50m.
Bloomberg also cited the 2025 UBS Billionaire Ambitions report, which says Singapore is home to 55 billionaires with a combined wealth of about US$259bn, a 66 percent jump from a year earlier, and that about 69 percent of those are self made.
In a press release, Benoit Meslet, CEO of Manulife Singapore, said HNW families “place greater emphasis on long-term certainty and legacy planning” and want insurers with “deep experience and the ability to deliver well-structured solutions at scale.”
He said Manulife’s role in the HNW sector rests on “strong underwriting discipline, robust governance standards” and a suite of solutions aimed at “the evolving needs of HNW clients” and supporting families across generations.
