AIG Life close to $10m

AIG Life Asigurari Romania (AIG Life Insurance Romania) last year collected 328bn ROL in gross premiums, up 66% in ROL from the previous year. If calculated in dollars, growth exceeded 50%, from $6.5 million to $10 million in gross premiums collected. “The growth is due to the constant improvement in the quality of the distribution network,” general manager Martin Zonneveld explained, commenting on last year’s performance. With nearly $10 million in gross premiums collected, AIG Life could come to account for 9%-10% of the market in 2002, slightly up from the 8% in 2001 (assuming the life insurance market reached $100-$110 million last year). Following a 43bn ROL loss in 2002, the fourth annual loss in a row, the company is expecting to break even in 2003, Zonneveld says. AIG Life has incurred heavy losses in its first years in business on the Romanian market, like any other insurance company having invested in this country. A newly established life insurance company usually breaks even in its seventh year in business. ZF