Based on the number of agents, the first- and second-ranked corporate insurance agencies (GAs) Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service and Incar Financial Service(211050) posted diverging results in the first half. While Incar Financial Service saw both revenue and net profit rise in the first half of this year, Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service recorded a sharp drop in net profit. Incar Financial Service is also rapidly narrowing the gap in the number of agents with Hanwha Financial Service, accelerating its chase for the lead.
According to the insurance industry on the 21st, Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service posted revenue of 1.2552 trillion won and net profit of 49 billion won in the first half of this year. Revenue rose 7.5% from a year earlier, but net profit plunged 29%. Incar Financial Service recorded first-half revenue of 640 billion won and net profit of 44.5 billion won, up 36.5% and 34.8%, respectively, from last year, marking record-high results. Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service said net profit temporarily decreased in the first quarter of this year as employee welfare expense increased.
Incar Financial Service is chasing Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service by expanding the number of agents in its sales organization this year and lifting performance. As of the end of the first half, Incar Financial Service had 24,724 agents, up 4,073 from the end of last year. During the same period, Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service had 27,134 agents, an increase of only 903, narrowing the gap in the number of agents between the two sides from 5,580 to 2,410.
As the insurance industry increasingly relies on the GA channel, the decline in Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service's results is expected to weigh on its parent company, Hanwha Life Insurance(088350). As of last year, GA agents numbered 319,106 out of a total of 712,426 insurance agents, accounting for 44.9% of the total. At Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Service, Hanwha Life Insurance products are said to account for about 90% of sales.
An industry official said, "Incar Financial Service has recently been aggressively increasing its number of agents, expanding its influence in the industry."