Prudential's 3-pronged strategy to push sales

KUALA LUMPUR: Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd (PAMB) has a three-pronged strategy to boost new sales this year beyond the RM1 billion mark it posted last year.

Chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza said the focus for 2011 would be on its bancassurance and agency business as well as introducing new innovative products to the market.

For the financial year ended December 31 2010, PAMB registered a record RM1.02 billion in new business annual premium equivalent (APE). This represented a 24 per cent growth over the 2009 figures.

APE sales consist of regular premium sales plus one-tenth of single premium insurance sales.

"We are optimistic of doing better than last year. We have consistently outperformed the industry year-on-year, not only in growth but also in profitability," he said after briefing the media on the insurer's 2010 half year results

For the fist six months of 2010, PAMB's new business sales grew 13 per cent to RM450 million from RM397 million last year. The new business sales measured on an APE include life insurance sales and takaful contributions.

"The excellent half-year results were driven by the successful implementation of our strategies, high productivity contributed by our 12,900 strong agency force and expanding bancassurance business," Oropeza said.

This has led PAMB to end its second quarter of 2011 with RM231 million in new business sales, an increase of 13 per cent from the RM204 million achieved in the same period last year.

PAMB has a combined 20 per cent life insurance and family takaful market share in the country.

Prudential Malaysia is the fourth largest life insurance business for Prudential plc in Asia, accounting for 12 per cent of Asia's total new business APE.

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