Bumiputera John Hancock records 40% growth

JAKARTA (JP): PT Asuransi Jiwa Bumiputera John Hancock announced on Thursday a 40 percent increase in premium income to Rp 14 billion (US$2 million) in the first half of 1999, with the largest growth derived from individual insurance.

Income from individual insurance schemes, with University Saving Plus as its main product, grew about 287 percent and contributed about 30 percent of the total income, the company said.

The remaining income was from employee benefit programs in companies.

"The main target for this year is for growth in the individual insurance business," company president David W. Cottrell said at the opening ceremony of its sixth sales center, located at Graha Pratama building in South Jakarta.

"At the moment, we only cover about 1 percent of the individual insurance market, and our target is to gain 5 percent by 2002."

Dharmala Manulife and Sewu New York Life are considered the market leaders in the local individual insurance business. Most of the major insurance companies also reported strong growth in the first half of the year.

Bumiputera John Hancock is a joint venture between John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. of the U.S. with an 80 percent share, PT Asuransi Jiwa Bersama Bumiputera 1912 (17.5 percent) and PT Indras Insan Jaya Utama (2.5 percent).

The company has been in operation since 1987, serving mainly multinational companies with employee and pension benefit programs. It entered the individual insurance market in 1994.

To promote its individual insurance products, Bumiputera John Hancock plans to open its seventh and eighth branch offices in Surabaya and Denpasar this year, Cottrell said.

John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company invested $2 million as a subordinate loan in the expansion project, he added.

"John Hancock worldwide has already focused on individual insurance. Our strategy is to get John Hancock's know-how and apply it here." (02)