Sun Life grabs top spot in life insurance market

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine unit of global insurance giant Sun Life of Canada has bucked the global downturn to grab the top slot in the local insurance industry based on its premium collection in 2011.

Based on its unaudited financial statement, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. capped 2011 with gross premiums of P14 billion, or 31 percent higher than the previous year’s level, while net premiums surged by 31 percent to P13.9 billion.

These numbers made Sun Life the No. 1 in the country’s life insurance market, the company reported.

The life insurance business in the country has been dominated for many years by The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam).

Sun Life Philippines president Riza Mantaring said: “2011 was a phenomenal year for Sun Life. Certainly, we realized significant gains in all our core lines. New products, aggressive branding campaigns, intensified agency recruitment, provincial expansion and heightened operational efficiency significantly helped in boosting sales.”

“Our Philippine operation is one of the brightest spots within Sun Life Financial. One of our four key pillars in charting a course for the future of Sun Life is strengthening our competitive position in Asia, and Sun Life Philippines’ recent successes, particularly in attaining the number one position in the market and strengthening its agency force, will go a long way in helping us achieve this goal,” said Sun Life Financial global president Dean Connor.

The insurer grew its total assets by 16 percent to P119 billion. Total benefits paid in 2011 amounted to P7.2 billion.

“We are very happy with the record-breaking results of our Philippine operations. We have full confidence that Sun Life Philippines will continue to achieve further growth. Our Philippines operation has led the way in many initiatives that focused on financial literacy, branding, operational efficiency and technology. These initiatives have been recognized globally and continue to be best practices in the organization,” Sun Life Asia president Dikran Ohannesian said.

The group also reported strong results for mutual funds arm Sun Life Asset Management Co.