MANILA, Philippines — The Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd., the country’s largest Filipino-owned life insurance company, reported that for the first time in the company’s 107-year history, its net income surpassed the P5-billion mark.
Based on the company’s audited financial statements, consolidated net income reached P5.03 billion in 2017, growing two percent from P4.9 billion in 2016.
“We are happy to report to our policyholders that Inlife’s operation has been that of sustained profitability all through these years, and 2017 was not an exception. Coming from a record performance in 2016, we used that momentum to consolidate our operation in 2017 into breaching the P5-billion mark,” said Mona Lisa dela Cruz, Insular Life president and CEO.
The company’s consolidated total assets also grew five percent to P135.9 billion from P130 billion year-on-year. Consolidated members’ equity or net worth increased 12 percent at P36.5 billion from P32.7 billion.
The parent company, on the other hand, generated a net income of P4 billion, up by nine percent from P3.7 billion in 2016, its assets increased by five percent, from P133.2 billion in 2016 to P140 billion in 2017, and its net worth of P41 billion is a 13 percent improvement from the 2016 level of P36.4 billion.
“There are a number of businesses that are encroaching into the financial arena, not just enticing new customers, but also raising customer expectations for customized and targeted experiences,” Dela Cruz said. “This is why innovation and technology had a big impact on the company’s initiatives in 2017.”
The company’s chief executive explained that business disruptors have prompted the management to embark on digital transformation as a key growth driver.
“We embarked on the digitalization of our processes and this translates to rendering better services for our policyholders,” Dela Cruz said.
The automation of these repetitive tasks are critical for enterprises to gain higher efficiency, lower operational costs, and ensure better user experience.
“These initiatives are necessary to transform our business model, but comprise only half of our strategy which stands on two legs to take Insular Life well into the future,” executive chairman Nina Aguas added.
She said Insular Life has taken a dual approach to transformation – revitalize the business through innovation and build a business model with technology as an enabler.
“We are optimistic that Inlife will become the most digitally connected company in the life insurance sector within five years,” Aguas said.
To date, Inlife is the only insurance company in the country that offers a fully-automated, end-to-end sales process which includes automated underwriting – all online, in just 30 minutes.