KUALA LUMPUR: Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd (PAMB) achieved an increase of 28% in new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) to RM312.36 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 (1QFY15), from RM243.67 million a year earlier, on new products and increased number of new agents.

In a statement yesterday, the life insurer said it saw a 27% year-on-year rise in the number of new agents for 1QFY15, bringing its total agency force to more than 16,800. PAMB recruited a total of 1,728 new agents in 1QFY15, compared with 1,366 agents in 1QFY14.

“The results are very encouraging and also underscore the growth potential of the life insurance market in Malaysia, where 56% of the population is insured compared with the national target of 75% by 2020,” said PAMB chief executive officer Philip Seah.

The company had earlier this year launched PRUvalue med, its latest medical insurance plan addressing concerns about medical inflation and rising healthcare costs.

PAMB also launched the entrepreneur development programme (EDP) last year, as recruitment remains a key focus.

“We launched the EDP last year to attract high quality and ambitious individuals. Through the EDP we aim to develop young entrepreneurs and increase their productivity through a comprehensive training road map,” Seah said.

PAMB is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Prudential plc, one of the world’s leading financial services groups and had £496 billion (RM2.93 trillion) of assets under management as at Dec 31, 2014. Prudential is listed on the stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 23, 2015.