Bellevue, Wash. (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

Efinancial, a leading online life insurance brokerage, is taking steps to make medically underwritten life insurance easier and faster to obtain than ever before. Recent company growth is helping the excelling brokerage assist consumers through every step of the application and underwriting process, resulting in faster responses and approvals.

After 10 years of service in the online life insurance industry, Efinancial has established a reputation as an innovator in the space. Providing unrivaled customer support and access to the highest quality life insurance policies on the market, Efinancial has helped thousands of consumers shop for and secure life insurance from the comfort of home. Offering access to the proprietary Efinancial life insurance search engine, prospective customers request quote comparisons from the nation’s leading life insurance carriers. From medically underwritten to no exam life insurance policies, Efinancial provides one of the most comprehensive product offerings on the market today.

Historically, securing medically underwritten life insurance coverage has been viewed as an arduous task. In an effort to better serve their customers, Efinancial set out to create a system that simplifies this process. Automated quote comparison technology allows Efinancial customer support agents to respond to consumer requests in real-time; issuing coverage quickly and efficiently. Additionally, by increasing staff and expanding both their corporate headquarters in Bellevue Washington, and their Chicago facility; Efinancial has created a scalable system that truly works.

Widely recognized as one of the most diligent case management teams in the life insurance industry, Efinancial’s case managers see to it that each and every application moves through the approval process seamlessly. Working with individual insurance carriers on a customer’s behalf, it is their sole responsibility to ensure that each application is submitted and followed up on properly. This dedicated team of case managers truly sets Efinancial apart as the online brokerage of choice, giving their customers peace of mind that they have a team of experts advocating on their behalf.

Submitting to a medical exam is one of the most critical steps when applying for fully underwritten life insurance coverage. The Efinancial team takes their service to the next level, coordinating medical exams for each and every applicant. Whether in home, at the office or during a doctor’s visit; Efinancial makes submitting to a medical exam as convenient as possible. Once the application and approval process is complete, the Efinancial Policy Approval Specialists step in to answer questions, assist with payment options and help new customers understand how to get the most out of their coverage. Finally, the Efinancial team continues to offer support and guidance based upon the individual needs of every customer.

“At Efinancial we pride ourselves on our commitment to customer service,” said Michael Rowell, Founder and CEO of Efinancial. “We believe that it is our responsibility to help new and existing customers understand their options and secure coverage that works for their individual needs. By going the extra mile we’re creating lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with each of our valued customers.”

After celebrating their 10 year anniversary in 2011, the Efinancial family is excited to see what the next decade will bring. With plans to continue exploring new ways to serve the evolving needs of the modern consumer, Efinancial is poised to be a major player in the online life insurance industry for many years to come. Watch for more announcements in the coming months, as they find new and innovative ways to exceed consumer expectations.

ABOUT EFINANCIAL

Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, Efinancial is a leading provider of online life insurance nationwide. Efinancial monitors top-rated insurance companies providing competitive rates, to give their customers the ability to shop and compare prices from the comfort of their home or office. To learn more about Efinancial, as well as the products and services they provide, visit http://www.efinancial.com or call 1-866-765-4296.

# # #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebefinancial/life-insurance-coverage/prweb9213044.htm

The managing director of Professional Life Assurance, Rajagopal Krishnaswamy, reportedly cited the need for microinsurance to cushion risks such as illness and death in developing countries such as Zambia that are characterized by economic insecurity. Professional Life Assurance has invested ZMK 640 million (USD 125,000) in the program. The headquarters of Professional Life Assurance is located in Lusaka, Zambia, and it’s two branches can be found in the cities Ndola and Zitwe.

The eight Zambian microfinance institutions that provide data to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) reported a gross loan portfolio of USD 4.5 million disbursed to approximately 29,000 borrowers in 2010.

By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources:

Zambia Daily Mail: “Professional Life Assurance Launches Bantu Bonse,” http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/index.php/business/3284-professional-life-assurance-launches-bantu-bonse

Times of Zambia: “Bantu Bonse Life Policy Gets K640m Boost,” http://www.times.co.zm/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=4593:bantubonse-life-policy-gets-k640m-boostcatid=37:businessItemid=88

MicroCapital.org story, January 24, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Citing High Repayment Rates, FINCA Zambia to Reduce Rates, Charge Interest Based on Declining Balance,” http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-citing-high-repayment-rates-finca-zambia-to-reduce-rates-charge-interest-based-on-declining-balance/

MicroCapital.org story, June 2, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MFTransparency, Association of MicroFinance Institutions of Zambia (AMIZ) Launch Transparent Pricing Initiative in Zambia,” http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-mftransparency-association-of-microfinance-institutions-of-zambia-amiz-launch-transparent-pricing-initiative-in-zambia/

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

State employees who use tobacco will pay much more for optional life insurance in 2013, according to a change that has been approved by the Public Employees’ Benefit Board.

The Standard Insurance Company will offer different rates for smokers and non-smokers next year, officials said at today’s meeting of the PEBB board of directors.

Tobacco users’ rates for optional life insurance will increase 35 percent to 45 percent, depending on their age.

At the same time, folks who don’t use tobacco will pay 6 percent to 9 percent less for their optional life insurance.

These figures came up during a presentation on preparations for renewing benefits for 2013.

The hike in optional life insurance premiums will come on top of a new $25 monthly tobacco surcharge that went into effect this year.

PEBB staff members could not tell the board how the percentage increase will translate into real dollars, but promised to get back to them with the information.

“I want to get a sense of how much we’re hitting up the smokers in addition to the surcharge,” said PEBB board member Paul McKenna, a research analyst for SEIU Local 503.

The rules governing optional life insurance coverage will be much more strict when it comes to tobacco users, PEBB Deputy Administrator Kathy Loretz said.

During open enrollment for the current year, state employees were asked whether they currently use tobacco. Those who answered yes are subject to the tobacco surcharge — but even then they can get out of the monthly fee mid-year if they report to PEBB that they’ve quit the habit.

By comparison, when signing up for optional life coverage in the coming year, workers will be asked whether they have been completely tobacco-free for the previous 12 months, Loretz said.

Under those rules, even tobacco users who quit today will still be subject to more expensive life insurance premiums for 2013.

The smoking rate for state workers tends to be lower than that of Oregon’s general population, according to the Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority.

A health survey conducted in 2009 found that only 9 percent of PEBB members smoked, compared with 14 percent of all Oregon adults.

dmthomps@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6719, Twitter.com/DMThompsonJr or Facebook.com/OregonStateWorkers

Irish Life Assurance buys Quinn life and pensions book

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – 02:43 PM

Irish Life Assurance has bought Quinn Life Direct’s life assurance and pension business, which is valued at €100m.

The sale, covering 5,000 policies, is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, subject to regulatory and court approvals.

Quinn Life Direct will notify its policy holders on details of the transfer and when it is likely to be completed.

Life assurance: Irish Life Assurance Plc has bought a majority stake in the Quinn Group’s life assurance and pensions business.

The sale, comprising 5,000 policies, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, pending regulatory and court approval.

Irish Life Assurance has declined to comment on how much they paid for the small number of policies involved in the deal..

Quinn Life Direct, which launched in 2000 is a separate regulated company to Quinn Insurance.

When in March 2010 the High Court appointed provisional administrators to Quinn Insurance, Quinn Life assured its existing customers that their savings and investments were backed by the Quinn Life unit-linked funds and that the company held the additional solvency margin required by the Financial Regulator.

The deal, which covers 5,000 policies, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, subject to the necessary regulatory and court approvals.

QLD is to write to its policyholders to explain the arrangements in greater detail. It will also give customers the key dates for the implementation of the transfer. Irish Life will write to the policyholders once the transfer is complete.

• Directors of failed financial firms must repay investors

Last year a bunch of, to me, whinging and whining financial advisers formed a new representative body called the National Association of Independent Financial Advisers (Naifa) mainly because they did not take kindly to the Financial Services Board (FSB) insisting that all advisers should have a have proven minimum level of knowledge.

Among other things, the FSB wants all financial advisers to be able to prove they know the parameters of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act.

This Act of Parliament determines how you should be given financial advice and who is allowed to give you financial advice and sell you financial products. In effect, it lays down that only licensed financial advisers can do this.

The general code of conduct attached to the legislation states that advisers “must at all times render financial services honestly, fairly, with due skill, care and diligence, and in the interests of clients and the integrity of the financial services industry”.

This general provision is followed by a list of specific provisions, which include the fact that all representations made to you must be factually correct and must be adequate and appropriate.

It became increasingly clear to just about everyone within the seven years of the Act being promulgated in 2002 that many financial advisers had simply failed to read the Act and its regulations, and if they had done so, they either appeared not to understand the legislation or simply decided to ignore it.

The main proof of this came from the increasing number of determinations flowing from the office of the FAIS Ombud, in which repeated mention was made of the fact that financial advisers, against whom determinations were made, were not adhering to the requirements of the Act and its regulations (see illustration).

The reaction to the new qualification requirements from a group of financial advisers was a torrent of abuse directed at the FSB, mainly on the basis that the advisers did not have the time to study and they had been doing the job for so long they had no need to prove themselves.

My questions are, if everyone is so skilled, who has been selling and continues to sell the dud life assurance investment policies with high costs and confiscatory penalties; who has been selling the even more deplorable property syndications; and who sold “investments” in the Leaderguard scam, among other things?

Despite the noisy opposition of Naifa members and others, the FSB has stuck to its guns – as it should have – and is insisting that the examinations be written and passed.

Sandra Dunn, the chief executive of the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (Inseta), tells me that so far only about 44 000 of an anticipated 140 000 people have successfully written the first-level examination, Regulatory Exam One.

The rest have until the end of June to take a first stab at passing the exam, with the end of September as the deadline for any rewrite.

This, by the way, is a new, extended deadline. And then, depending on the level of advice provided and job function in the industry, there are further examinations with new deadlines for further periods ending on various dates this year.

Many financial services companies are running in-house training courses, education institutions are offering training and Inseta has set up a training course of its own.

The Inseta learning material is available on the Inseta and FSB websites and can be downloaded free of charge to anyone wanting to make use of it. Here are the website addresses in case you, as a consumer, want to know what your adviser should be doing for you: www.inseta.org.za and www.fsb.co.za

And to make it even easier for financial advisers, Inseta is also running seminars around the country.

The first people to sign up for the Inseta courses should be the leadership and members of the new Naifa. Some seem not to have a clue about the FAIS Act.

For example, last year I wrote a column saying how disgraceful it was that Santam’s professional indemnity underwriting agency, Stalker Hutchinson Admiral (SHA), on behalf of financial adviser Deeb Risk, had decided to challenge the right of the FAIS ombud to issue determinations on property syndication complaints.

There are about seven complaints and three determinations against Gauteng-based adviser Risk, who advised mainly pensioners to put their money into imploding Sharemax property syndications. Further determinations are on hold until the outcome of the legal application.

The massive mis-selling of imploding and often fraudulent property syndication schemes has left many thousands of pensioners facing penury. Risk, backed by SHA, wants to force the impoverished investors to fight their claims in expensive, lengthy High Court battles, negating the very purpose of the FAIS ombud, which is to provide a quick and cheap mechanism for the resolution of complaints.

Financial advisers are required to have professional indemnity insurance to cover themselves against claims from consumers.

The intention of the legislation requiring advisers to have professional indemnity insurance was to provide a back-up for consumers – not to pay legal fees for errant advisers to beat up consumers.

However, with the court challenge to the ombud, it seems the insurance is more directed at funding the beating up of consumers, who have a legitimate claim against financial advisers who have given appalling advice, particularly to the elderly.

Anyway, I received a response to the column from Chris van der Walt, a board member of Naifa, which is published below, with my response.

Van der Walt’s letter came with a covering email from the Naifa chief executive, Lance Friedlande, who claims that Risk “wishes to appeal in court against a discussion by the Ombudsman”. I think he means determination.

No Mr Friedlande, it is not the determination against which Risk is appealing; he is applying to the High Court, with the financial backing of SHA, to prevent the FAIS Ombud, Noluntu Bam, from issuing any determinations she wants on property syndications.

In terms of the FAIS Act (which I suggest Friedlande reads), if Risk was appealing the determination he would first have to apply to the ombud for permission to appeal, and then the appeal would go to the FSB Appeal Board, which is headed by a retired judge.

Apart from reading the FAIS Act and writing the examinations, I would also suggest that Naifa members read the Treating Customers Fairly documentation on the FSB website. This is a new regulatory regime that the National Treasury and the FSB are implementing, and it will place additional responsibilities on financial advisers to treat you properly.

This includes properly investigating products and not selling you lemons, driven almost entirely by how much commission is earned, as has been the case with most property syndications.

Next week is the National Budget, but I will return to this matter next month, dealing in more detail with the need for financial advisers to do proper due diligence checks before they sell products to you.

Letter from NAIFA to Personal Finance

I refer to the article, quite bereft of logical consistency, by Bruce Cameron in the November 26 (2011) issue of Personal Finance.

You will recall that the story discussed a consumer complaint lodged with the financial services ombud against a financial adviser over a R1.4-million investment in Sharemax. To qualify for the ombud’s jurisdiction, the complainant had to reduce the claim’s value to R800 000. The ombud ruled in favour of the complainant – a result that is now being challenged in court by the adviser and his insurers – a challenge against which Cameron strenuously objected.

Cameron argued that not only would the consumer suffer as a result of the case having gone to court, but that all consumers would find themselves in the same boat. Disingenuously, he extended this premise to include all consumers. All who dared be involved with the adviser – even indirectly – were thereby cast in an anti-consumer guise.

Cameron is surely aware that a determination by the ombud can be made in one (or combination) of three ways:

* normatively;

* substantively; or

* based on fairness.

The problem is, the introduction of fairness as a criterion embodies an element of subjectivity and uncertainty. There can be no fairness in the present case, where the complainant had to forgo a substantial R600 000 for the privilege of letting the ombud make a determination.

A case for redress to the courts is self-evident from these facts. Indeed, it would place the consumer in a far better potential situation. Consumers deserve less eclectic ideology and more legal certainty.

Advisers’ legitimate expectations are not currently being met by regulators. As long as their calls to scrap unjust provisions and the unjust application of rules continue to be ignored, the legitimate assertion of individual rights will grow. Regrettably, only thus will the powers-that-be sit up and listen.

Increasingly, informed consumers are appreciating the value of independent financial advisers, who are fully prepared to stand up for their clients’ rights. Independent financial advisers are deeply concerned that the continuous erosion of their rights and reputation will ultimately harm consumers.

Chris van der Walt

Board member of Naifa

Dear Mr van der Walt,

Firstly, let me quote the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act, which you do not seem to have read or do not understand. It states: “The objective of the ombud is to consider and dispose of complaints in a procedurally fair, informal, economical and expeditious manner and by reference to what is equitable in all circumstances…”

As you stated and I stated in my original column, there is a R800 000 limit to the awards for compensation that may be made by the ombud. To claim a greater amount, the complainant would have to take the matter to the High Court.

Now Mr van der Walt, you try disingenuously to make out that the complainant, 72-year-old widowed pensioner Elise Barnes, is being deprived of her rights because she has taken her complaint to the ombud, forgoing R600 000 of R1.4-million potential claim. If she had gone to the High Court, she could have claimed the full R1.4 million, but pray, Mr van der Walt, you do not explain how Ms Barnes would fund the High Court action and what she will live off in the meantime.

You may judge the situation by how much money you have in your bank account, but Ms Barnes has been virtually cleaned out by the advice she received from adviser Deeb Risk to invest in Sharemax. She had no choice but to surrender part of her claim. She does not have enough money to maintain her retirement years, let alone fight High Court cases. But seeing you feel so strongly about her rights, why don’t you and your organisation fund her full claim against Risk in the High Court? Put your money where your mouth is.

You also do not deal with:

* How long it can take to get a matter finalised in the courts. Remember, Ms Barnes is 72 years old and this could wind its way over years all the way to the Constitutional Court.

* How the scales would also be massively against Ms Barnes, with Risk being financed by Santam and indirectly by its owner, Sanlam.

This claim of yours is as cynical and as uncaring as the famous misquote attributed to Marie Antoinette: “Let them eat cake.”

And the other thing you fail to mention is that there have also been determinations against Risk and there are other complaints in the wings that do not exceed the R800 000 limit. SHA is challenging the ombud’s right to make determinations in all these cases, and the column you criticise stated as much.

Yes, I agree that consumers need sound financial advice, but you do not seem to care a hoot about consumers, or about the thousands who have lost money in property syndications and other schemes because of appalling commission-driven advice.

What sums it up is your paragraph: “Advisers’ legitimate expectations are not currently being met by regulators. As long as their calls to scrap unjust provisions and the unjust application of rules continue to be ignored, the legitimate assertion of individual rights will grow.”

This does not seem to show any concern about consumer rights. It strikes me that all you are trying to do is abuse free publicity in Personal Finance to curry favour with the malcontents and unskilled in the industry to sign them up for membership of your organisation.

On the basis of your letter, if I was in the market for financial advice or products, I would be very cautious in dealing with members of your organisation.

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2012 February 21 Entry

Spring training feel good story: Brett Tomko

By Hal McCoy

| Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 01:30 PM

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Brett Tomko has worn the uniforms of 10 different major-league baseball teams and worn 11 different uniform numbers.

At one point in his career, his goal was to break the record for most teams played for — 12 by pitchers Mike Morgan and Ron Villone, both former Reds.

Then 2009 happened and Tomko’s perspective on life and baseball changed completely and dramatically.

The 39-year-old right-handed pitcher began his career with the Cincinnati Reds, a No. 2 draft pick in 1995. After three years with the Reds, he was traded to Seattle in the Ken Griffey Jr. deal.

FROM THERE, Tomko’s career spun like the cities on the marquee of a Greyhound bus — Cincinnati, Seattle, San Diego, St. Louis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego again, Kansas City, San Diego again, New York (Yankees), Oakland, Texas and now the complete circle — back to Cincinnati.

He is in camp on a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league camp and said, “I told them I’ll do anything they want. Anything. I can go to Triple-A and be insurance. Whatever they want.”

THAT TOMKO CAN still stand on a mound is a miracle. There was a period in 2009 and 2010 when he couldn’t throw a baseball 10 feet, couldn’t pick up a one-pound weight with his right hand.

“It was ’09 in Oakland and I was pitching as good as I ever had in my career (4-1, 2.95 ERA),” he said. “I had a shutout going into the ninth inning, seeking my 100th career win. I felt a pop in the pit of my arm pit. I finished the game throwing nothing but breaking pitches.

“Within an hour-and-a-half I lost feeling in my arm,” he said. “My biceps went completely dead. The next day was the worst pain I ever felt, couldn’t move my head an eighth-of-an-inch.”

TOMKO UNDERWENT a barrage of tests over the next month and it was discovered he pinched and stretched the nerve and the nerve shut down.

“I lost all feeling and still don’t have it all back and it has been two years,” he said. “It took 18 months for the nerve to re-generate.”

Doctors told him he’d never pitch again. Find another vocation. Tomko’s wife was having medical problems and the couple’s twin boys were born four days after Tomko blew out his arm.

“I felt terrible, felt like I should be home with my wife,” he said. “But I rehabbed all of 2010. The lowliest minor-leaguers were beating my brains out, I was throwing 81-82 miles an hour. Embarrassing. There I was in Stockton, Calif. trying to make it back. I called my wife several times to tell her I was coming home, but she urged me to keep trying.

“I MADE SIX or seven starts in rookie ball that year then went to ‘A’ ball in Stockton,” he said, a 37-ear-old guy at the time starting over. “I almost retired a few times because the nerve wasn’t feeling right. My velocity wasn’t there and doctors kept telling me I’d probably never pitch again competitively.

“In Oakland, I was pitching as good as I’d ever pitched and then, one pitch, it was gone,” he said. “I didn’t want to end it that way. That was my main motivation.”

Tomko had difficulty finding a job last year and eventually went to minor-league camp with Texas and appeared with the Rangers briefly — eight bullpen appearances, 0-1, 4.58.

“This is real emotional,” he said. “I still want to play, I’m still competitive. When it happened I was pitching as well as I ever had, so a little fire was still burning. And it gave me a greater appreciation for the game. I never took it for granted, but you get comfortable and think it will last forever. When it is taken away and you aren’t ready for it, it’s very, very tough.”

TOMKO ADMITTED he was very emotional after his return to the majors last year with Texas as he came off the mound after his first inning. “I started crying. Tears were running down my face before I got to the first base line.”

So Tomko is one of those feel-good spring training stories and the Reds are willing to give him the chance. As he said, “My velocity isn’t 94 to 95 any more, but it is 92-93, pretty normal for a 39-year-old guy. But it was a long, long road. I didn’t want to go through it, but it has made me appreciate what this is all about.”

If Tomko can make it back, he could indeed be insurance. There is no assurance Aroldis Chapman can be stretched out in time to be a starter and injuries do pop their ugly heads.

Manager Dusty Baker said the plan is to try to stretch Chapman out this spring to be a starter, “But it is a matter of if we have enough time. And what we do with him depends on our needs and his success or failure. I have no problem with three left-handers in the bullpen if we back Chapman into the bullpen (Chapman, Bill Bray, Sean Marshall).”

Chapman was supposed to stretch his arm out to become a starter last fall in the Rookie League, then in the Fall League and then in Puerto Rico. But a tired arm destroyed that plan.

Chapman said he would have liked to have given a try anyway, but he worked hard in the off-season, “And I think I am physically and mentally prepared to be a starter.”

Remember last spring?

“We were scuffling for starters by the start of the season because of the injuries to Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey,” said Baker.

BAKER’S LITANY of what needs to happen for the Reds this year isn’t stop-the-presses news, but it is nice to hear the manager talk about the issues fans talk about.

Baker: “We need to come out of spring training without injuries to our starters, it is important how Bronson Arroyo bounces back and I think he is geared for it and prepared for it because he looks good. We need to keep Scott Rolen healthy and have him play a good number of games. We’ll be better if Jay Bruce improves and cuts down his strikeouts, if Drew Stubbs improves and cuts down his strikeouts

“We’ll be better if we get more production out of shortstop then we got last year. Hey, we’re young in the shortstop department (Zack Cozart) and in the catching department (Devin Mesoraco), two of the most important positions on the field,” Baker added. “And it depends upon how Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick do in left field. There are some questions.”

QUOTES OF THE DAY: “We have some questions to answer this spring. If we didn’t, it wouldn’t be much fun.” — Manager Dusty Baker.

Of the possibility of the Reds having five right-handed starters: “You would prefer a lefty, but you want to go with your five best starters. A good right-hander is better than a bad left-hander.” — Baker.

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By

jim

February 21, 2012 7:19 PM | Link to this

Very interesting story. Thanks.

By

Bill in AZ

February 21, 2012 6:40 PM | Link to this

Keep the stories coming Hal, really enjoy them. Bought tickets today for the Angels game on the 11th. Want to see Albert in his new uniform. Hope to see you there.

By

Yippee

February 21, 2012 3:58 PM | Link to this

Haha, so who’s the bad left hander he’s referring to? Jeff Francis or Aroldis Chapman??

By

Chris

February 21, 2012 2:53 PM | Link to this

How is that last sentence NOT the quote of the day “A good right-hander is better than a bad left-hander.” Talk about baseball cliches!

By

Yippee

February 21, 2012 2:35 PM | Link to this

GO REDS !!!!

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“The company has experienced sharp growth of more than 30 per cent in the past several years, beyond the market average of 5 per cent. This has convinced us to become one of the country’s top-three life insurers in the next three-year plan,” Vipon Vorasowharid, managing director, said last week.

The goal is to achieve total sales of more than Bt55 billion by 2014, he said.

The company is also further strengthening growth of agent sales and special markets, as well as investing in a new portfolio.

The company’s total premiums are targeted to grow by 21 per cent to Bt36.64 billion, while new business is expected to expand by 26 per cent to Bt15.20 billion this year.

Last year, SCB Life’s share in the life-insurance industry was 9.2 per cent, up from 8.3 per cent in 2010. The firm ranks third in first-year premiums with a 11.58-per-cent share.

Last year, SCB Life reported solid performance with total premiums up 30 per cent to Bt30.30 billion. First-year premiums alone were Bt12.47 billion. SCB Life will aggressively strengthen multi-distribution channel efficiency, emphasising bancassurance, agent sales and telemarketing.

Bancassurance is the strongest sales unit and contributes about 80 per cent of the company’s sales. Bancassurace sales are expected to rise by 28 per cent this year. The company will expand its bancassurance customer base in all segments – retail, corporate and SME.

The firm will continue to drive growth of non-bank channels through a special market business group in order to balance the portfolio and ensure sustainable growth. It will boost sales in non-bank channels through new partners like groups, Tesco Lotus and cooperatives after successfully achieving strong growth of 90 per cent last year in this channel.

Sales through Tesco Lotus are expected to jump to Bt360 million this year from Bt107 million last year. The firm will focus its investment more on equity and property funds this year, from relying mainly on government and corporate bonds.

Initially about 7.5 per cent of the company’s investment will go to equity and property funds, with the target of about 4.9-5 per cent for return on investment this year. SCB Life will also consider investing more in overseas markets in the near future as offshore investment currently makes up less than 1 per cent of the investment portfolio.

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