Charter Ping An nears P4-B GPW target

MANILA, Philippines - Charter Ping An Insurance Corp. is right on track to hit its 2014 full year gross premium written target of P4 billion, a 15-percent increase from last year’s P3.5-billion GPW.

“We continue to outpace the industry’s five percent growth rate, and remain consistently on course for our own targets,” Charter Ping An president Melencio C. Mallillin said.

Total GPW in the first nine months of 2014 hit P2.91 billion, or roughly 10 percent better than the P2.6 billion in the same period last year. It was just slightly lower than the desired level of P3 billion.

Mallillin said that 40 percent of their business emanates from synergies with GT Capital Holdings Inc., the holding firm of major firms such as the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), Federal Land Inc., Global Business Power Corp., Toyota Motors Philippines, Toyota Manila Bay Corp. and Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp.

The no-life insurer’s agency force, broker alliances and direct selling activities account for the remaining 60 percent of its premiums.

“We are expanding our non-GT Capital market by, among others, forging ties with other domestic insurers, re-insurers and also foreign players which have limited exposure,” the Charter Ping An chief executive added.

These distribution networks also produce such big ticket accounts coming from the power plant, port facilities and transportation sectors.

“We have capacity for that, we have the facility for both big ticket and the middle accounts or market,” he added.

In terms of per line business, fire and property business is on top of the list. It produced P1.09 billion in GPW end September this year, or seven percent better than the P1.01-billion in the same period last year.

Motor/car premiums rose to P827 million by Sept. this year or a little over four percent better than the P795 million recorded in the same period in 2013.

The overseas Filipino worker (OFW) insurance business contributed P339.9 million in GPW this year, a little better than the P346 million in the first nine months of 2013.

Marine cargo GPW amounted to P98.9 million end September or 11 percent better than the P89 million last year.

The marine hull business reached grew by a whopping 47 percent to P113.9 million this year, from the P77.5 million last year.

Bonds (all types) contributed P83.8 million in GPW in the first nine months of 2014, up by 13 percent from the P74.3 million in the same period last year.

Insurance for engineering activities amounted to P147.1 million end September this year, up by almost a hundred percent from just P75.6 million last year.

Other casualty insurance reached P99.8 million this year, up 11 percent from the  P89.9 million last year.

Finally, personal accident (PA) managed to register a GPW worth P109.7 million after three quarter of 2014, up by a surprising 51 percent from the P72.7 million in the same period last year.

Last year, Charter Ping An was listed among the top five non-life insurers. The industry has been shrinking from over a hundred a few years back to just 64 as regulators have annually been increasing the capital base requirements.

Total industry GPW ballooned to P55.6 billion, net premiums written (NPW) of P25 billion, and premiums earned worth P25 billion. Of the total 64 non-life insurers active in 2013, only 14 managed to breached the P1-billion mark in GPW.