Prudential BancBali expects lower sales

JAKARTA (JP): Prudential BancBali Life (PBBL) projected on Tuesday a lower premium income this year amid the expected tighter competition in the life insurance market.

PBBL's vice president Tri Djoko Santoso said the total premium income was estimated to increase by only 30 percent this year, far less than the 200 percent increase recorded last year.

The company booked Rp 122.6 billion (US$17.5 million) in total premium income last year, a jump by 200 percent from 1988's result of Rp 37.4 billion.

"We are not aiming high this year. Business is unlikely to be as robust as last year. We may have to compete head to head in captivating customers in the banking sector which is predicted to recover this year. We are ready to come up with interesting investment products," he told a media briefing.

The company's president Shelton Chellappah said 1999's robust growth particularly resulted from the successful sales of the company's latest product, the PRUlink Investor Account.

He said the product was an investment vehicle for life insurance which allowed customers to set their own investment choice and determine the level of their life insurance protection.

"We collected Rp 55 billion in new premium income from the PRUlink product six months after the launching in mid-1999," he said, adding that the total number of PBBL's policy holders had reached 17,000 as of December last year.

The company would launch another product this year which wis similar to the latest investment tool, PRUlink, he said without elaborating. (cst)