Tune Protect expects to maintain double-digit growth in premiums this year

PETALING JAYA: Tune Protect Group Bhd, which saw its first quarter net earned premiums (NEP) grow 25.2%, expects to maintain double-digit growth in premium income this year, driven by its marketing initiatives and new product launches.
Last year, the digital insurer's gross written premium grew 9.2% and NEP rose 13.8%, contributing RM72.9 million to the group's profits for the full year.
"We do a lot of different things to make sure we continue this growth. Based on our first quarter result, we are quite confident that we should be able to maintain this trend," its outgoing CEO Junior Cho told reporters after its AGM here last Friday.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2016, Tune Protect's NEP climbed 25.2% to RM82.6 million, boosted by the increase of RM12.3 million from its general insurance business across the motor, medical and fire classes, and an increase of RM4.3 million from global travel business.
Meanwhile, Cho who recently announced that he will be stepping down from his position next month due to personal reasons, said the group is still looking to acquire an insurance company in Indonesia.
Previously the group had mutually terminated two acquisitions in the republic, due to regulatory issues.
Cho said Indonesia remains as a vital market for the group, which represents the third largest contributor to its travel business.
"We are still very keen to establish an underwriting presence there. But it has to be at the right price and the right asset," he noted.
Currently, the group has a presence in 50 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) regions, with close to 500 employees.