AXA premiums jump 22%

MANILA, Philippines - AXA Philippines, a joint venture between Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and the AXA Group, posted total premium income of P8.7 billion in the first nine months, up 22 percent from the same period last year.

In the third quarter alone, premiums exceeded the P2-billion mark or 31 percent higher than the previous year.

AXA Philippines is seen to end the year with a premium income of P12 billion, up 28 percent.

In 2011, AXA Philippines reported total premium income of P9.983 billion, 19 percent higher than the P8.4 billion recorded in 2010, and more than double the P4.4 billion recorded in 2009. It ranked third best life insurer last year.

AXA Philippine president and chief executive officer Severinus P.P. Hermans said all distribution channels made major contributions to the nine-month premium growth.

The firm’s 1,600 exclusive agency force sales increased by 39 percent, bancassurance with 31 percent, and alternative channels recorded increases of 19 percent.

In terms of product mix, 83 percent of the company’s sales come from variables or insurance products laced with investment instruments (mainly in mutual funds).

Traditional protection life insurance products make up 13 percent of the total while group accounts take up remaining four percent.

In terms of sales by distribution channel, bancassurance accounted for 56 percent of the market pie, 28 percent through the agency force, and 16 percent from the alternative channels such as direct marketing or sales.

Hermans said that most of the policies sold were part of the second generation investment-linked (variable) product range of Life Basix, Axelaror and Ambition X, introduced last year.

The number of its clients ballooned to 346,000, (140,000) of which are individual accounts from 250,000 in 2009 (90,000 individual accounts).

AXA Philippines aims to increase its customer base to half a million by 2015, of which 250,000 are individual policyholders.

At the end of September, assets under management stood at over P40 billion, a record level for AXA Philippines.

Paid up capital was over P600-million or well over the Insurance Commission’s required minimum paid up capital level of P250 million by end 2012.