The morbidity deterioration behind the claims

New research from AIA Group, published July 13, 2026, puts a specific face on the deteriorating morbidity picture. The report documents declining healthy life expectancy – years lived in good health beyond age 60 – across several key markets between 2019 and 2021: from 13.3 to 11.4 years in the Philippines, 13.8 to 11.9 years in Indonesia, 13.6 to 11.5 years in India, and 14.9 to 13.8 years in Malaysia. The AIA research argues that this deterioration is partly driven by non-biological factors – declining community participation, social isolation, and loss of purpose in later life – that traditional morbidity models do not capture. Stuart A. Spencer, AIA’s group chief marketing officer, framed it as an industry-wide challenge: “Life is more nuanced than the traditional risk factors insurers have employed. We need to extend our imagination and our curiosity to better understand seniors and appreciate how other factors contribute to improved mortality, morbidity, and longevity.” Whether or not insurers move to incorporate psychosocial variables into underwriting – no Asian regulator has yet required it – the underlying deterioration in healthspan is already flowing through to claims.