Life insurance inflows continue to grow at healthy rates with pan-Asian life insurer AIA Group reporting strong interim results for the half-year to 31 May.
AIA Group, headquartered from Hong Kong and operating as AIA Australia locally, reported a 26 per cent increase in the value of new business to US$645 million and a 29 per cent increase in annualised new premiums to US$1.527 billion.
AIA Australia chief executive Peter Crewe said the group's performance stemmed from its partnerships with advisers, intermediaries and trustees.
"We have moved beyond a transactional relationship with partners and customers to become an important part of their protection strategy," he said.
AIA Group also reported that its net profit increased 34 per cent to $2.104 billion, with Australian operations taking nearly a quarter share of the local group-risk market in the first quarter of this year.
Plan For Life data from 2012 showed that AIA Australia had a 24.2 per cent market share and recorded an increase in yearly risk inflows of 13.7 per cent or $947.3 million, while AIA Group also reported strong growth in Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.
Inflows into risk insurance products were strong across 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, according to Plan for Life statistics. Individual risk lump sum and income products and group risk product inflows rose by about 10 per cent from $10.6 billion to $11.7 billion for the year to the end of March 2013.
The insurance company has joined this year’s awards as a principal partner.
The $135 billion fund has transitioned away from TAL Life Insurance following an “extensive tender process”.
The $80 billion fund is facing legal action over allegedly signing up new members to income protection insurance by default without active member consent.
In a Senate submission, the Financial Services Council has once again called for further clarification that the government will assess the consumer outcomes of group insurance against the enshrined objective of superannuation.