Manulife single premiums up 300%

Manulife Philippines has reported an increase of nearly 300 percent in its single premiums in the first three months of 2008.

From $1.13 million in the first quarter of 2007, single premiums ballooned by 289 percent to $4.4 million in the same period this year.

Regular premiums expanded by four percent, or from a little over $3 million from January to March 2007 to $3.21 million this year.

Thus total premiums and deposits grew to $26.769 million, an increase of 35 percent in the first quarter of 2008 against the $19.82 million same period in 2007. Assets under management (AUM) grew to $609.36 million, for an increase of 11 percent year-on-year. P2.9 billion total premiums in 2006

In an earlier interview, Manulife Philippines president and chief executive officer Carl Gustini said a minimum 15 percent growth in total premium income is achievable in 2008. “We can say that all targets can be exceeded.”

Manulife wrote over P3-billion worth of life insurance policies last year, ranking it fourth leading insurer among the 34 industry players. It ranked eight among the insurers marketing variable or unit-linked (VUL) products, or policies that are both traditional and investment-laced.

Part of the Manulife’s bullish attitude is the bancassurance alliance forged with the China Banking Corp., one of the largest and profitable commercial banks in the country. The bancassurance alliance allows Manulife to sell its policies through China Bank’s over hundred branches nationwide.

Bancassurance is expected to account for at least 15 percent of sales this year,” Gustini said.

He notes that Manulife started the year on the right track with significant growth in regular and single premium sales for the life business.

“Productivity of our agency and alternative distribution channels continued to stimulate growth in single premium unit-linked,” the insurer’s chief executive added.

The introduction of the regular premium VUL product provides policyholders an optimal return on their investment, combining basic protection benefits with that of various investment fund options – Peso Bond, Peso Balanced, Peso Equity and US Dollar Bond Funds – to match the investment objectives of the customer.

Manulife Philippines is a wholly owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp., the world’s sixth largest and North America’s second largest life insurance company by market capitalization.

Manulife has 250,000 policies-in-force coming its organic efforts as well as inorganic activities such as the various mergers it undertook in the past years. These include the merger with John Hancock Life Assurance, and its acquistion of policy portfolios of CMG Life Insurance Co. Inc., Pramerica Life Insurance C0. Inc., and Metlife Insurance Company of the Philippines (Metlife Philippines). 

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, it offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners.  Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Canadian$400 billion ($389 billion) as at March 31, 2008.