GSB sees high growth in insurance income
Part of the role of the Government Savings Bank (GSB) is to encourage self-insurance through its saving accounts for people from childhood to old age, for which premiums skyrocketed by 320 per cent to Bt11.71 billion in the first quarter of the year from
GSB reported that the premiums had been generated from its 1,046,000 life-insurance policies. Of the total, first-year premiums accounted for Bt8.42 billion, up by 813 per cent from the same period last year.
The bank’s life-insurance products are designed to encourage people to concentrate on saving and life coverage, which relatives can claim when policyholders die. As a result, its insurance policies do not concentrate on risk coverage.
Pisit Serewiwattana, senior executive vice president for the bank’s marketing group, said it targeted total premiums of Bt11 billion by the end of the year. In addition, new deposits are projected at Bt15 billion this year, bringing the bank’s total deposits (attached to insurance policies) to Bt71 billion. As of May 19, total deposits were Bt66 billion, an increase by Bt9.7 billion year on year.
“The bank’s insurance premiums have grown in line with its deposits, as life-insurance products are offered together,” Pisit said.
To increase income from its life-insurance business, GSB this year plans to expand its customer base to working men and women as well as retired people. The bank will easily capture these targeted customers as it manages their payrolls or borrowing. In addition, savings-insurance policies are projected to see high growth.
The bank’s policyholders are classified into five groups: children, working people, families, investors, and grass-roots people. The last category will be one of the key targeted groups to boost the number of policies.
To achieve the goal, the bank is recruiting 400 young people to focus more on marketing and the bank’s other services. GSB has already recruited 100 of these. They will also support the bank’s establishment of 100 new branches for a total of 1,000 this year.
Pisit said the new recruitment had not only helped boost the number of insurance policyholders but also all the bank’s service businesses. Moreover, it is planning to launch new savings-insurance products by July.
GSB has formed a business partnership with Dhipaya Insurance to provide non-life products such as car insurance. The bank is looking for other insurance companies to provide other general policies.
