New York Life eyes 72% hike in new premiums this year

New York Life Insurance (Philippines) Inc. remains bullish on its growth prospect in the Philippines, as it aims for a 72-percent growth in first-year premiums this year.

From P189-million worth of annualized first-year premiums last year, the three-year old life insurance company is looking to gain another P324-million worth of new premiums this year.

From the period 2001 and 2002, New York Life sold P100 million in premiums.

For this year, New York Life is eyeing P324 million in premiums, enabling it to clinch a slot at the top 10 list of life insurers in the country.

Of the total new premiums last year, an estimated 25 percent, or nearly P50 million, was sold as a direct result of its alliance with Allied Banking Corp. Single premiums, which were introduced only in the middle of 2003, accounted for less than 10 percent of the annualized first-year premiums.

New York Life Phils. sold five percent of its equity to Allied Bank late last year to fulfill regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to practice bancassurance or cross-selling.

Thus, the life insurer was allowed to sell life policies utilizing Allied Bank’s branch network of 283 nationwide.

In the first quarter of 2003, the US-based insurer acquired the existing policies of MAPFRE Asian Insurance Corp., the local subsidiary of European composite insurer MAPFRE of Spain.

It has since infused more than P1 billion in various types of investments, including acquisitions.