Sun Life Grepalife eyes P1B in new premiums

MANILA, Philippines - The Sun Life Grepalife Financial Inc. (SLGFI) hopes to raise over P1 billion in new business premiums this year with the introduction of several variable unit linked (VUL) life insurance products, as well as new traditional insurance products, and sell the same through the branch network of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

SLGFI is a joint venture bancassurance company between Sun Life Financial and the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

In October last year, Sun Life Financial acquired 49 percent of Grepalife Financial, the life insurance company of the Yuchengco Group.

“Within the first quarter of 2012, we will introduce three VUL products followed up by a number of traditional bancassurance products,” Naresh Krisnan, president and chief executive officer of SLGFI, said.

 VUL insurance products are life insurance products that are laced with an investment component, as well as a life insurance policy.

Bancassurance is the practice of selling insurance products through a bank’s branch network, otherwise known as cross-selling from the point of view of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Grepalife Financial reported in 2010 total premium income worth P3.6 billion, of which P1.4 billion came from the bancassurance distribution network.

 The additional P1 billion in new premiums will bring SLGFI abreast with its critical competitors.

 In 2010, the leading bancassurance joint venture is AXA Philippines with total premiums worth P8.3 billion, followed by BPI Philam Life with P5.6 billion.

AXA Philippines is a joint venture of AXA of France and the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) formed in 1999, while BPI Philam Life was formed in 2009.

Krisnan said that more than sticking close to the leading insurers, SLGFI is looking at the small size of the insured population, as opportunities for any insurer.

There are just a little over three billion policies-in-force in a population of 95 million, or less than half of one percent of the total population with an insurance policy, based on 2010 official data.

 “We have the expertise, the products, the international network, and a very strong and supportive local partner in the Yuchengco Group which has been in the business of insurance for the longest time,” the SLGFI chief executive said.

Aside from premiums from bancassurance, SLGFI will likewise rely on the group life and work site distribution infrastructure inherited from the former Grepalife Financial, the recognized leader in that sector of the life insurance industry.

SLGFI manages 100 bancassurance sales officer (BSO), or its financial advisers, deployed at the RCBC branches.

Krisnan said that they would raise the number to 150 by the end of the year and up to 300 by 2014.

RCBC operates 360 branches which ideally means one BSO for every branch. SLGFI also manages 1,500 sales agents.

SLGFI is the latest bancassurance firm to enter the country’s life insurance industry that generated P70 billion worth of total premiums in 2010.

The official data from the Insurance Commission (IC) for calendar year 2011 will be released after the first semester of 2012.