Impressive growth in Life, General for HNB Assurance in 1H 2014

Monday, 25 August 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HNB Assurance PLC has recorded an impressive growth as per the latest interim results released to the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company was also successful in strengthening its topline over the first half of FY 2014, where the combined turnover, expressed as Gross Written Premium (GWP), of both Life and Non-Life Insurance businesses escalated by 24% over the same period of the previous financial year. This achievement was driven by an impressive 27% growth in Life Insurance GWP while Non-Life Insurance GWP also contributed with a growth of 21%.Accordingly, the combined GWP achievement for the period stood at Rs. 2,254.8 million, with a contribution of Rs.1, 133.9 million from the Life Insurance business and Rs. 1,120.9 million from the Non-Life Insurance business.

Commenting on this significant growth, HNB Assurance General Manager General Insurance Niranjan Manickam confirmed: “The strong topline growth signals the effectiveness of the Company’s business practices and the success of the strategies adopted to remain a resolute player in the industry despite challenging market conditions. Our strategic focus has been to attract selected segments of the market by designing products and services which would cater to the expectations of these customers whilst also leveraging on the relationship we have formed with financial institutions by providing customized insurance solutions to their clientele.” Commenting on the growth in Life Insurance, General Manager Life Insurance Prasantha Fernando stated: “The fact that we have seen this growth in the midst of structural changes within the company to separate General and Life insurance businesses, as stipulated by legislation by early next year, is noteworthy.” Further he acknowledged: “The growth in Life Gross Written Premiums of 27%, against the overall life insurance industry growth of 7% is quite impressive, considering the very competitive insurance market in Sri Lanka. Our continued focus on developing innovative insurance solutions and delivering them to the identified customer segments caringly, efficiently and passionately has made us strong in the face of new challenges confronting the life insurance market.” The company also surpassed the Rs. 100 million mark in post-tax profits during the first half of the financial year. Accordingly, the PAT of the company stood at Rs. 108.million for the period, while PBT also increased to Rs. 127 million. This is entirely from the General Insurance business since a profit from the Life Insurance business is recognised only at the end of each financial year based on actuarial valuations.