Insurer AIA's third-quarter new business value rebounds from pandemic slump

(Reuters) -Asia-focused insurer AIA Group Ltd posted a 4% jump in its quarterly value of new business (VONB) on Friday, as it continues to recover from the pandemic-led disruption to business in most of its main markets.

The Hong Kong-based insurer's VONB, which measures expected profits from new premiums and is a key gauge for future growth, rose to $735 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $706 million a year earlier.

In Asia, insurance firms mainly rely on their army of agents for product sales, which have been dented by pandemic-led lockdowns and social distancing measures, though AIA, like peers, has been trying to sell more products online.

AIA's VONB from its mainland China business continued to be its biggest contributor, while its Hong Kong business recorded "strong" growth, boosted by domestic customers at a time sales to visitors from mainland China remained soft due to ongoing travel restrictions.

China and Hong Kong together account for about half of the company's VNOB globally.

AIA, which was founded a little over a century ago and was the first foreign insurer to be granted a license in China, warned in an exchange filing https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/1112/2021111200001.pdf of disruption from pandemic-induced restrictions and increased claims in some of its markets, particularly where vaccination levels are low.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)