Grepalife premium income up 22%

MANILA, Philippines – Despite an industry slowdown Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. (Grepalife) recorded a 22-percent increase in total premiums to P504.7 million in the first three months of 2009.

Agency sales alone reported a 54-percent growth in first year premiums from January to March compared to the same period last year.

The output of B-Secure, its bancassurance channel, grew 29 percent to P193.2 million. Group and worksite marketing likewise posted a nine-percent growth, registering P78.96 million in premiums from P72.2 million last year.

Grepalife reported an almost 30-percent growth in premiums last year from P1.44 billion in 2007 to P1.86 billion. Its original target for 2008 was P2 billion but the effects of the global recession weakened demand.

Grepalife president and chief executive officer Victor P. Quisumbing attributed the strong first quarter performance to the company’s definedstrategy for the year.

“This is a very auspicious first quarter performance and it shows our strategy of just keeping it real in terms of product promise and services delivered are the sure formula to business growth and public trust,” Quisumbing added.

He also noted that new business premiums increased despite the overall contraction in the life insurance industry, indicating continued customer preference for the company brand.