Manulife Hong Kong has reported strong results for the first quarter of 2017, with premiums and deposits up 37% to HKD17.8 billion (US$2.27 billion) year-on-year.
The insurer also posted positive year-on-year results in annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, which went up 10% to HKD1.2 billion (US$152.9 million). The company said that the increase was driven by introduction of new customer services and increased productivity of its agency channel.
New business value (NBV) rose 31% to HKD721 million (US$91.86 million), while the size of the firm’s agency force increased by 11% to 7,633 agents.
"We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter of 2018, particularly our strong growth in wealth and asset management gross flows, premiums and deposits, and NBV," said Guy Mills, chief executive officer of Manulife Hong Kong.
“In addition to our agency force, contributions from the broker channel and our key bancassurance partner DBS Bank also helped us achieve higher APE sales for the quarter, demonstrating the success of our diversified distribution strategy,” he added.
Mills added that Manulife’s launch of claimsimple.hk, a platform that allows customers make medical insurance claims online, has resulted in over 20% of customers filing claims online in just three months in the market.
