By P.R. Venkat

AIA Group's value of new business fell 28% in the third quarter as Covid-19 weighed on the insurer's operations, but sequential growth was strong thanks to the easing of the pandemic restrictions.

New-business value declined to $706 million, while AIA's new-business margin slipped 15.6 percentage points to 51.6%, it said Monday.

"While remote completion continues to account for a significant proportion of new business in some markets, we have generally seen an increase in the proportion of our sales sourced from face-to-face meetings," AIA Group Chief Executive Lee Yuan Siong said.

AIA said that while the medium-term outlook remains highly uncertain, the demand for its products and services will continue to grow over the long-term due to rising wealth and low penetration levels in Asia.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-08-20 1851ET