Insular Life posts 52% hike in premium earnings

Insular life’s total premium revenues for the first five months of the year reached P3.1 billion, a 52 percent growth over premiums for the same period last year. Premiums from new business reached P1.4 billion, exceeding its year’s target of P1.3 billion by five percent.

The company attributes this growth to its dollar-demoninated endowment plan, the Dollar Earner, which was offered for a limited period from October 2002 to April 2003.

To sustain growth, the company is eyeing more new products. It has recently launched its Dread Disease product, a rider that can be attached to its regular insurance policies. The Dread Disease Rider covers seven dread diseases, cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary artery surgery, renal failure, major organ transplantation, and paralysis.

The rider benefit pays 100 percent of the face amount upon diagnosis of the covered diseases while preserving the coverage under the basic insurance policy. This translates to funds that the policyholder can use for medical treatment. The life insurance protection remains in force even after the policyholder has been granted the dread disease benefit.

To boost revenues, the company has concentrated on government securities for its new investments in the first half of the year. New investments as of May totaled P2 billion of which around P900 million went to short-term money market placements, P700 million went to ROP bonds, P160 million in long-term Fixed Rate Treasury Notes, P160 million in Retail Treasury Bonds and P100 million in Treasury Bills.

This is in line with its investment strategy of shifting its investible funds to fixed-income instruments. In the second half of last year, the company extended new term loans to Ayala Corp., Globe Telecom, Asian Terminals, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.