Grepalife bullish on meeting goal

MANILA, Philippines - Great Pacific Life Corp. (Grepalife) said yesterday it is optimistic it would meet its P2.4-billion full-year target in premium income, working the first time the life insurer would register premium income over the P2 billion mark.

In a statement, Grepalife said first-year premiums alone grew 36 percent to P1.2 billion as of October, as officials confided they have been averaging a growth rate of over 30 percent across all income groups.

Grepalife is a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, and ranked eight among the 32 life insurance firms in the country in terms of premium income last year.

Last year, premium income reached P1.86 billion and P1.44 billion in 2007.

Grepalife president and chief executive officer Victor Quisumbing said their bancassurance distribution network remained the top contributor to premium income. Using the 335-branch network of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), bancassurance contributed 37 percent to total premiums.

Group insurance contributed 33 percent of total premiums, followed by agency or direct sales force which accounted for the remaining 30 percent.

Grepalife runs an agency force of 2,000 around an industry that fields a total of 40,000.

“That is an area of concern for the industry, as the number of agents have not significantly grown over the years,” the Grepalife chief executive said. “Vietnam, which is fast catching up with the rest of Asia, boasts of a nationwide agency of 70,000.”

Meanwhile, Grepalife said it is bullish on the prospects for 2010 in terms of sales and new business. Its recent acquisition of Great Life Financial Assurance Corp. (Great Life) will result in bigger portfolios in individual and group insurance.

Quisumbing declined to reveal further information on the buyout other than Grepalife would absorb majority, if not all, of Great Life personnel.

Grepalife recently acquired one million shares of Great Life from RCBC at P211,488 per share. RCBC will be free of any equity in Great Life, but will retain a five-percent stake in Grepalife.

Quisumbing said they are now emphasizing on regular pay for its traditional life insurance products as well as variable unit-linked products. Regular pay mode for insurance premiums is made in quarterly, semi-annual and annual mode, which is easier for the policyholder.

It also ensures a steady stream of income (otherwise referred to as renewals) for the insurer. So far, renewals grew by 15 percent.

Single pay or one-time pay premiums were popular in 2007 but did not promise recurring business for the insurer.