Life insurance firm Allianz Ayudhya Assurance is aiming for 10% growth of gross written premiums (GWP) this year after posting 34.3 billion baht in 2022 amid challenging headwinds.
President and chief executive Thomas Wilson said the company's performance last year was solid, supported by balanced distribution strategies.
While the insurance market shrank by 1% during the first 11 months in 2022, Allianz reported strong growth in both GWP and annual new premiums (ANP), which totalled 7 billion baht, expanding 7% and 15% year-on-year, respectively.
The biggest contributor of ANP growth last year was the agency channel, which amounted to 2.9 billion baht, up 25% from 2021.
Bancassurance, based on its partnership with Bank of Ayudhya, generated 2.7 billion baht with 17% year-on-year growth.
Direct marketing channels dropped 3% last year to 1.4 billion baht, partly attributed to widespread scam calls that led to a less successful pick-up rate among customers. Combined with group insurance, this channel provided around 1.6 billion baht of ANP, said Mr Wilson.
In terms of product categories, health insurance posted continued growth, accounting for 11% in ANP last year, he said.
Globally, the Allianz Group recorded a 2.8% increase in total revenue to almost 5.27 trillion baht last year. The group's operating profit hit a new record, surging 5.7% from the previous year to 490 billion baht, supported by a strong performance from property-casualty, life, and health business segments.
In 2023, the firm will continue to focus on its "Strategy 2025" to expand business, with an aim of generating 37.7 billion baht in GWP, including 7.7 billion baht in ANP, said Mr Wilson. The ANP target for health insurance is 2.5 billion baht.
Allianz will continue to strengthen the agency segment through its programmes such as the Master Financial Advisors, which doubled unit-linked production to 114% last year, he said.
The firm aims to serve all customer segments through a variety of developed health products, said Mr Wilson.
This year agency channel growth is expected to exceed 10%, though employee benefits will slow to less than 10% because of fierce competition in the segment, he said. Banking and direct marketing channels should expand by around 10%, said Mr Wilson.
"We anticipate a strong year in 2023 and I think we can already see the results of that growth in January and February," he said. "As the economy and consumer confidence have improved, we're seeing our customers upscale their health insurance coverage based on affordability."