Top Sun Life exec says Phl operations a growth pillar

MANILA, Philippines - Top officials of Canada-based insurance giant Sun Life Financial Inc. said their Philippine operations remain a growth pillar in Asia, not only contributing heavily to the bottom line but also trailblazing in product offerings and use of technology.

In an interview yesterday, Sun Life Financial president and chief executive officer Dean Conner, along with Sun Life Financial Asia president Kevin Strain, said the Philippines contributes a huge chunk to the group’s Asian profit.

“The Philippines accounts for 40 percent of the (Sun Life Financial) region’s income,” Strain said. The four other markets for Sun Life in Asia are Hong Kong, China, India and Indonesia.

He said the Philippines is likewise contributing in terms of innovation, human resources, technology, and information technology, as the country hosts a 170-seat business process outsourcing (BPO) center which connects Asia to the rest of the insurer’s global operations.

“We are leveraging on the knowledge, experience, innovation and relevant technology from the Philippines,” Strain added. A good example is the use of text or short messaging system (SMS) as alerts to inform policyholders of developments in their policies and other related activities.

Conner added that Asia, for its part, makes up only eight percent of the insurer’s global income, but sees the region with a lot of potential for growth and economic development.

After the worldwide financial meltdown in 2007, Sun Life re-tooled its strategy towards its so-called four pillars of growth: Canada, the United States, Asia, and global asset management operations.

 “We expect that Asia will account for 20 percent of the total in the near future,” Conner added.

 Over the past few years, he noted that there has been a definite migration of foreign funds and investors to the Asia Pacific region.

 Sun Life Financial, which has been in the Philippines for nearly a century, has vaulted to the top of the life insurance business last year. “It is a feat that has not happened in the Philippine market for several decades,” the Sun Life Financial officials said.

Conner explained that Sun Life Financial has survived the low interest regime and in fact diluted the negative impact through diversification and timely conservatism.

A concern of most insurers is the low interest rate environment, which makes an impact on earnings and investments and affect the price of insurance policies.

“We change products, hedged on other investments, and in the case of Asia, made the right mix in dealing with the low interest regime,” he said. In the Philippines, Sun Life Financial re-priced its products as early as 2007 to reflect its far-reaching outlook on the Philippine market.

In 2011, Sun Life ranked first in terms of total premium income, hitting a record P13.9 billion. It manages over 3,500 agents, 28 inter-branch sales offices (ISOs) and 35 business offices, for a national footprint of 63 sales offices.