AMP's premium income up

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AMP New Zealand showed modest first-half growth and it says underlying trends in the business are “positive in a challenging market.”

Thursday, August 16th 2012, 3:51PM

by Jenny Ruth

For example, individual risk annual premium income (API) rose 4% to $292 million in the six months ended June 30 – the year earlier figure of $281 million is restated to include AXA's results which have been consolidated in the latest results for the first time.

Excluding AXA, AMP's 2011 first-half income in this category, the bulk of its business in New Zealand, was $160 million.

“We invested significantly to bring together two of New Zealand's most enduring enterprises and iconic brands,” says AMP financial Services New Zealand managing director Jack Regan.

“The integration of the businesses is tracking ahead of plan and the increased scale is enabling AMP to develop market-leading capability to better support advisers and improve service to customers.”

AMP's number of New Zealand advisers, including Axa's, rose to 685 at June 30 from 668 a year ago, although it was down from 704 at December 31. The company says the shrinkage since December reflects “the impacts of the new compliance regime and the challenging market environment.”

Adviser numbers should shrink further by December due to “definitional changes” under the new regulations, AMP says.

Individual risk API in the latest six months was up slightly from $288 million in the six months ended December. Group risk API was unchanged at $38 million.

Regan says the individual risk API outcome was “a resilient result in a competitive market affected by subdued economic growth and increased household insurance costs due to premium increases arising from life insurance tax changes and the Christchurch earthquake.”

Lapse rates rose from 9.3% to 9.9% over the year.

Regan says they are still “significantly lower” than the industry average.

AMP expects further price increases across the industry to address tax changes which should put upward pressure on lapse rates.

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