Allianz units to set up one-stop-shops

The Jakarta Post

PT Allianz Utama and PT Allianz Life, the two Indonesian units of Germany-based Allianz Group, booked Rp 2.3 trillion (around US$255 million) in combined premium income as of the end of the third quarter, company executives said.

General insurer Allianz Utama managed to record a 3 percent rise in gross written premiums (GWP) during the period, despite huge claims it paid out to customers in relation to the massive floods in the capital earlier this year.

Its revenue rose from Rp 466 billion in 2006 to Rp 482.3 billion in 2007, Allianz Utama president director Victor Sandjaja told a press briefing. The company paid out Rp 158 billion in claims related to the floods.

Allianz Utama saw a 43 percent increase in profit before tax from Rp 34 billion to Rp 46 billion as of the end of the third quarter, and had more than 79,000 policy holders, a 24 percent increase over last year.

Meanwhile, PT Allianz Life, recorded a 185 percent jump in revenue from Rp 637 billion in the same period in 2006 to Rp 1.8 trillion, thanks to the rapid growth of its unit-linked products and bancassurance distribution system.

Allianz Life recorded a 79 percent increase in profit before tax from Rp 34 billion to Rp 61 billion with more than 543,000 policy holders, which represented a 25 percent rise from last year.

"We are going to invest Rp 10 billion on setting up 'Allianz Centers' in 7 big cities in Indonesia to give optimum service to our customers," said Jens Reisch, Allianz Life president director.

The centers would provide customers with one-stop-shop access to the two companies products, and offer a real-time premium payment system. (JP/ind)