Allianz Lanka records Rs. 249 m PBT

Allianz Lanka, achieved one of the highest growths in the Sri Lanka insurance industry in Life and in Non Life business last year.

In the Non Life company, the Gross Written Premium (GWP) grew by 38%, from Rs.1.5 billion to Rs. 2.1 billion. The company also achieved operating profits of Rs 249 million, despite heavy investment on recruitment and expansion and made underwriting profits of Rs 90 million.

The main strategic focus was on developing retail business. The company has a large portfolio of corporate business. Therefore, it changed towards personnel retail business in 2013 which has paid dividends.

The company's business composition in Non Life shifted this year, with Motor, non Motor business mix shifting to 24% and 76%. The heavy expansion and consequent infrastructure development costs reduced the return on equity from 29% to 22%.

The company's solvency margin stood at 2.3 times above the regulatory minimum. Financial stability was also confirmed with the growth in net assets base by 12% from Rs. 780 million to Rs. 875 million.

In the Life company, the GWP grew by 56% from Rs. 532 million to Rs. 829 million and the first year premium by 64%. Investments grew substantially by 73%.

The company reduced net loss by a further 32%. The solvency margin was 5.3 times higher than the regulatory minimum.

As it takes a much longer time to turnaround the Life company to profitability, the company is well on track towards achieving this goal.

The success in the investment strategy enabled the company to declare a dividend of 8% to policyholders. This year, Allianz Life insurance added to its basket of Life products by introducing Unit Link, a policy that enables policyholders to decide on their investment based on their risk appetite, and grow their protection and investment by switching among designated funds.

"The year was one of growth and expansion. We opened 18 branches mainly in Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Western provinces. Our strong growth, despite having no captive business, confirms the success of our strategies and initiatives to grow the business in Sri Lanka," said Allianz Lanka, Chief Executive Officer, Surekha Alles.

"I am also pleased with the progress made by our branches, especially the contribution of the North and the East," she said.

Allianz Lanka will focus on sustainable growth and expansion in the suburbs and will further invest in IT infrastructure development. Digitalisation will play a key role in reaching out to customers by improving convenience and efficiency.