FPG sees strong growth in premiums

MANILA, Philippines - FPG Insurance Co. Inc. (formerly Federal Phoenix Assurance Co. Inc.) is forecasting a “strong” double-digit expansion in premiums written in the Philippine market, and expanding its footprint in the regional market. FPG Philippines is a member of the Zuellig Group, with business interests in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, industrial supplies, property and insurance.

FPG president and chief executive officer Ramon Y. Dimacali said that a double-digit growth in premiums written was the clear target for 2015 with the way the Philippine economy has been growing in the past year.

“The economy has been growing over six percent in the past years, with aggressive private consumption and improved infrastructure spending,” Dimacali said in an interview.

Last year, FPG Philippines (then known as Federal Phoenix) reported net premiums written (NPW) worth P1.8 billion, up 30.4 percent from the P1.38 billion in 2013.

The strong double-digit expansion in premiums sent FPG from seventh in 2013 to fifth overall last year, thus joining the elite group of non-life insurers, including consistent leaders Prudential Guarantee, Malayan Insurance, and BPI/MS.

Drivers of growth last year were mainly auto and mortgage insurance.

Dimacali explained that the strong economic growth in the country results in private spending on property, housing and automobiles. All of which result in higher sale of premiums on auto and mortgage insurance.

He added that the higher awareness of increased risks from natural as well as man-made disasters only fueled greater acquisition of protection products.

Aside from the fact that the Philippines had been tagged as one of the sweet spots among the Asian countries in terms of consistent economic growth, FPG is also in an aggressive regional expansion.

The Zuellig Group recently said that it was re-branding not only the Philippine operations but also its subsidiaries in Indonesia and Thailand.

“We are not just changing the name but we are taking a bold step towards regional integration,” Dimacali said.

He, likewise, explained that the three huge operations would see an integration of skills, resources, and systems.

“That would include our partners, agents and customers – in all the three countries. We know that even our customers are going regional. And we would like to go regional with them and give them better offerings,” the FPG Philippines chief executive added.

FPG Insurance is focusing on the respective strengths of each company, which can be adopted by members of the group. For example, FPG Philippines’ computer information system is more advanced, hence it was adopted “lock-stock-and-barrel” by FPG Thailand.

But the system for marine insurance underwriting being used by FPG Indonesia is more superior, thus will now be adopted by the Philippines.

“By leveraging on each other’s resources, each other’s experiences, we accelerate our integration and also our solutions delivery. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he said.

He noted that even their partners stand to benefit from such integration.

One partner of them, GBG ATMSafe, allows them to offer insurance protection to ATM users in the Philippines. It will now be able to expand to Indonesia and Thailand.

FPG began as Federal Insurance in 1958, but changed its name to Federal Phoenix when Phoenix Assurance bought a stake in the company in 1986.

The Zuellig Group acquired Federal Phoenix in 2004 and continued its acquiring mode by buying the 148-year-old Asuransi Indrapura (in Indonesia) in 2012 and the 30-year-old non-life insurance company of Chubb Thailand in 2014. Both companies now carry the FPG insurance brand.