SUN LIFE of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (Sun Life Philippines) expects its performance to improve in 2024, along with the rest of the life insurance industry, as inflation and interest rates are expected to ease.

“There’s some indication that interest rates have started to top out, and I think the impact of the last 18 months where interest rates rose really quickly, I think we’re through that. Inflation is starting to come down in North America,” Sun Life Financial, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin D. Strain told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.

“So, with the current environment, with lingering challenges from the pandemic, the volatility of markets, the escalating tensions from geopolitical concerns, this impacted the industry… Things are looking brighter for the fol-lowing year. We expect the growth to even be better,” Sun Life Philippines CEO and Country Head Benedict C. Sison said in a separate interview.

Sun Life Philippines expects its own and the life industry’s performance to be boosted by better economic prospects, as it expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 6-7% next year.

For this year, it expects the economy to expand by 5.9%.

The government targets 6-7% and 6.5-8% GDP growth this year and next, respectively.

Mr. Sison said their GDP outlooks for 2023 and 2024 would put the Philippines among the fastest-growing economies in the region.

Sun Life Philippines is expected to outperform the company’s other branches in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region amid the economy’s strength, Mr. Strain said.

“The Philippines is our flagship in Asia and it’s a place that we have the biggest footprint — it’s number one. It does so many great things with our brand, with servicing clients. It’s one of our examples that we use for the rest of the re-gion. The Philippines is really the crown jewel of Sun Life in Asia,” he said.

“I think there’s a core set of motivated and educated people in the Philippines that I think really serves us all. We’re seeing lots of digital innovation and I think that’s just a really good place for us to build a strong base,” Mr. Strain added. — A.M.C. Sy

Sun Life Philippines wants to continue investing in digitalization to get to know its customers better, which could fuel its growth, Mr. Sison said.

“We always focus on our clients… so we’re always addressing their needs. On top of that, one key imperative of ours is digital leadership. We continue to invest in digitalization, but that will really be an enabler for us more than being a business because majority of our clients still want to talk to somebody they trust,” he said.

“They want to talk to an advisor because they’re making some of the most important and complex decisions in their life. So, our products still require human interaction, with digital becoming a clear enabler,” he added.

The insurer also aims to focus on business owners, employees, professionals, high net worth individuals and overseas Filipino workers for product distribution next year.

In the first quarter, Sun Life Philippines was the top life insurer in terms of premium income with P13.21 billion. Its new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) stood at P2.43 billion in the period.

In 2022, the company posted a net income of P11.73 billion.

Meanwhile, the life insurance sector’s premium income declined by 2.25% year on year to P149.47 billion in the first semester, data from the Insurance Commission showed.

The sector’s NBAPE rose by 9.62% to P29.5 billion in the period, while its overall net income went up by 2.58% year on year to P16.37 billion. — A.M.C. Sy

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