Manulife pre-need, life sales hit 28%

MANILA, Philippines - The total sales of Manulife Philippines for its combined life and pre-need businesses increased by 28 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, following a 77-percent growth in total single premium sales and an eight-percent growth in total regular premium sales.

Both the life company and the bancassurance joint venture company – Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corp. – saw strong growth in its variable unit-linked (VUL) products. The joint venture is between China Banking Corp. and Manulife Philippines.

Total fourth quarter premiums and deposits grew by 11 percent year-on-year.

“As of end-December 2009, our total assets under management grew by 21 percent over the same period in the previous year,” Indren Naidoo, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Philippines, said.

New comprehensive critical illness insurance products have been launched via Manulife’s agency (CriticalCare) and bancassurance (Health Protect) distribution channels.

New products included a single-pay insurance product, which addresses clients’ financial protection needs for 47 serious medical conditions. “We also launched a range of limited-pay critical illness riders,” he added.

Manulife Philippines is the domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp., among the world’s largest and North America’s largest life insurance company by market capitalization. Manulife Financial Plans Inc. is the pre-need subsidiary of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.) Inc., the life insurance arm.

Manufacturers Life ranked fifth overall among the country’s 32 life insurers in 2008.