Cardif Assurance Taiwan aims to grow its revenue by 20 percent this year because the improving economic outlook is favorable for sales of unit-linked insurance policies, senior executives said yesterday.
The local unit of the French insurance giant posted NT$47.5 billion (US$1.59 billion) in total premiums last year, up 30 percent from a year earlier, outpacing the company’s 20 percent growth target, Cardif Taiwan general manager Ruth Wu (吳澔如) said, attributing the results to strong demand for investment-linked insurance policies.
POSITION
“We intend to maintain our leadership position as a specialist in unit-linked insurance policies in the local market,” Wu told a media briefing.
The company commanded a 40.5 percent market share in unit-linked policy sales via bancassurance last year.
BNP Paribas Assurance TCB Life Insurance Co (合作金庫人壽), a joint venture of state-run Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合作金控) and BNP Paribas Group, came second with a market share of 25 percent, followed by Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance Co (安聯人壽), ACE Life Insurance Taiwan (中泰人壽) and Prudential Life Insurance Taiwan.
UNIT-LINKED POLICIES
Unit-linked policies generated NT$44.6 billion in revenue for Cardif Taiwan last year, accounting for 94 percent of revenue, while mortgage life insurance contributed 3 percent, although the volume of sales edged up to NT$1.4 billion from NT$1.2 billion in 2011, Wu said.
Cardif Taiwan expects revenue from mortgage insurance to hold steady this year from last year as unfavorable government policies continue to weigh on property transactions even though a low penetration rate provides ample room for growth, Cardif Taiwan chief marketing officer Derek Lin (林意展) said.
CHINESE CURRENCY
Cardif Taiwan is to offer yuan-denominated insurance policies later this year, because an internal survey found that 55 percent of customers would like to include the Chinese currency in their asset allocation, Lin said.
The French insurer has decided not to offer yuan-based traditional insurance policies on concerns about heavier provisioning costs, Lin said.
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