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SINGAPORE-based Bharath Investments Inc., the arm of
Chennai, India-head-quartered Shriram Group, has infused
P63 million in fresh capital to Monarch Insurance Co.
“It’s
partly to meet capital requirements of the Insurance
Commission [IC],” executive vice president Y.C. Lai told
the BusinessMirror in an interview.
The
capital hikes the capitalization of 50-year-old Monarch
Insurance to nearly P200 million, double the IC
requirement of P100 million.
Based on
IC data, Monarch landed at No. 51 of the 94 insurance
companies with the highest paid-up capital in 2006. Of
the total P10.86 billion in paid-up that year, Monarch
accounted for P63.6 million.
Lai said
the fresh capital will also fund marketing activities
for the new products to be launched within the year.
“The
reason there’s still a lot of people not attracted to
getting insurance is because we are not doing much to
get them to do so,” senior vice president T.L.
Arunachalam added.
“We’re
exploring ways of expanding the traditional way we
market insurance products,” Arunachalam said. He noted
that based on 2006 data, less than 2 percent of the
Philippine population is insured or have bought an
insurance product. “But we see that as an opportunity.”
The
Monarch Insurance executive said the capital infusion is
expected to push their drivers for growth in the next
five years—expansions in market presence and in product
line, strong channels of distribution, value additions
to clients and intermediaries, and focus on sectors of
growth.”
He said
the company targets to expect growth to reach 40 percent
this year to P145 million. The company has a license to
sell nonlife insurance products. It is 40-percent owned
by the Shriram Group and Ceylon Insurance Co. Inc. of
India. |
