(February 9 – 12:30 ET) – 1999 was a milestone year for Maritime Life, says the company. It doubled in size with the purchase of Aetna Life Insurance Company .
“It’s been an exciting year to be part of Maritime Life,” said Maritime Life president and CEO Bill Black. “We’re now among the top five sales leaders in every line of our business and growing.”
Consolidated net income to shareholders for 1999 was $36.2 million, after accounting for acquisition financing and integration costs for the year. That represents an increase of 10 per cent from $32.9 million in 1998, says Maritime Life. Profitability in the group division was poor, but this is largely offset by excellent results with respect to asset default costs.
Group sales for the year reached an impressive $212 million, an increase of 14 per cent over the 1998 total of $186 million. Investment product sales for Maritime Life are up 6.6 per cent from last year’s results: $938 million in new deposits, compared to $880 million in 1998. Sales net of redemptions were even more impressive – increasing by 6.3 per cent for Maritime Life, compared to a drop of almost 50 per cent for the mutual fund industry.
After several years of growth, life product sales, including living benefits, fell to $75 million in 1999, down from $94 million in 1998. In the fourth quarter, sales began to rebound as a result of product enhancements.
An independent study conducted by Hewitt Associates and sponsored by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business ranked Maritime Life fifth among the 35 best companies to work for in Canada. “The belief that satisfied employees are the key to having satisfied
customers is integral to Maritime Life’s business goals,” said Black. “I’m delighted we were ranked so highly in the survey.”
-IE Staff