Sun Life pre-need firm tops industry in November, nears industry leadership

Sun Life Financial (SLF) Philippines topped the pre-need industry in the month of November, securing a third best position covering the period January to November last year.

Latest data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal Sun Life emerged number one in the industry both in terms of initial cash brought in (ICBI) and gross contract price (GCP), the two most relevant benchmark sales indicators for pre-need companies. For the month of November, SLF garnered a market share of 46.52 percent in ICBI and 27.8 percent in GCP.

Top rival Philam Plans Inc. followed with 16.44 percent and 20.61 percent, respectively for ICBI and GCP, while Prudentialife Plans trailed at number three with market shares of 6.89 percent and 5.81 percent.

Pension plans proved to be SLF’s main strength, cornering a huge 61.6 percent of the market’s overall ICBI for the month of November alone. Philam Plans snatched 11.9 percent for the second spot, while Manulife Financials landed third with 6.6 percent.

The month of November is marked by SLF’s launching of a novel marketing campaign that enabled it to buck a generally weak market that was the result of the financial adversities faced by some major players in the pre-need industry.

Year-on-year, Sun Life improved its pre-need sales in terms of ICBI by 603 percent, inspite of a continuing drop of almost 36 percent in total sales of the entire pre-need industry.

By the end of November last year, Sun Life landed third spot overall in terms of ICBI, with a market share of 11.13 percent. During the same period in 2004, it ranked fifth in the industry.

The feat concretizes the forecast made by Sun Life Financial Philippines president and chief executive officer Lorenzo V. Tan in an earlier statement. Sun Life Financial Phils. has three components, including Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc., Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc., which offers Filipinos the widest range of mutual fund products; and Sun Life Financial Plans.

"We have a strong upside in our pre-need business. Our pre-need company enjoys the highest trust rating in the industry, as what are persistency ratio has shown, and we will surely use that to our advantage."

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to individual and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. – TPT