Sun Life sees 35% growth in 2010 premium income

MANILA, Philippines - Sun Life Financial (SLF) Philippines said it expects its total premium income from its life insurance business to grow 35 percent this year, and 15 percent in 2011.

In 2009, its total premiums hit P9.5 billion, the second highest in the industry with approximately 17 percent of the life insurance market in the Philippines.

Sun Life said it forecasts total premiums to register at P12 billion by the end of the year, and about P14 billion next year.

Total premium income amounted to P8.3 billion in 2008, from P8.5 billion in 2007. But net income reached P2.3 billion, 50 percent more than the P1.5 billion recorded in 2007.

Sun Life Financial president and chief executive officer Rizalina G. Mantaring said new business, or new life insurance policies written in 2010, has been growing by over 50 percent.

She added that their provincial sales have been expanding aggressively, presently accounting for 30 percent of total sales.

“Premiums from our provincial agencies have grown this year, roughly 30 percent of total new business versus the 25 percent share in 2009. Our target is to reach a 50:50 ratio in the next three to five years,” she added.

Sun Life’s unit-linked or variable life insurance have been outperforming traditional products. Unit-linked or VULs are insurance laced with investment products such as mutual funds, against the traditional or all-protection insurance policies.

As of October this year, VULs already accounted for 70 percent of new business.

Last year, it was practically the reverse with traditional products outperforming VULs as the market turned conservative, reeling from the 2008 credit crisis.