Bumiputera John Hancock records 40% growth

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)