Mar 2009 Financial News

Guardian boasts 13% increase in new business

Mar 04, 2009

Guardian Life boasted a 13 per cent increase in new individual life business, a feat which company president Earl Moore beat industry performance by 10 percentage points.

"The individual life sales team achieved new business annualised premium income of $832 million, representing a 13 per cent increase over 2007 and ten per cent better than the industry performance," Guardian Life president Earl Moore disclosed yesterday.

Moore was speaking at the company's 9th annual award ceremony held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

Guardian Life revenues for 2008 climbed to over $8 billion, representing a 25 per cent increase over 2007, which according to Moore reflected in part his companies increase in traditional market share by 1.4 per cent to 38 per cent during 2008. Sagicor Life Jamaica claims the lion share of the island's life insurance market.

Group health insurance also posted robust performance, according to Moore.

In 2008, Guardian Life had "top line growth", particularly in Medecus Health which posted 236 per cent growth in new business over 2007.

"A total 100 new groups were added to the portfolio covering 8,147 lives," Moore disclosed. "Medecus accounted for 20 per cent of the annualised billed premium in the health industry for 2008."

Investment income grew 25 per cent to $3.3 billion but recorded an eight per shortfall over 2007, Moore said.

He argued, however, that in 2008 the local equities market posted its worst ever performance in a six-year period saying that year-to-date December 2008 the JSE index fell by 25.76 per cent and the All Jamaican Composite declined by 30.71 per cent.


Source:
Jamaica Observer
Wednesday, March 04, 2009

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20090303T180000-0500_147038_OBS_GUARDIAN_BOASTS_____INCREASE_IN_NEW_BUSINESS.asp