Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH) has reported a 20% increase in the value of new business, reaching R60.2 billion for the nine months ending March 2024. The insurer attributes this growth to a favourable mortality experience, strong investment income and a reduction in the discount rate used for calculating the present value of premiums. MMH now calculates the present value of new business premiums (PVNBP) using a risk-free discount rate, instead of the previously used risk discount rate. Single-premium policies experienced a 32% rise to R46.9 billion, while recurring-premium business declined by 15% to R2.9 billion. Momentum Retail and Momentum Corporate divisions also performed well, with the latter reporting a 51% increase in PVNBP due to strong single-premium structured investment inflows. Momentum Retail’s PVNBP increased by 13%, driven by a 21% year-on-year (y/y) growth in new protection business and a 7% rise in new long-term savings business. Momentum Insure improved its gross written premiums by 6% to R2.4bn, while Metropolitan Life reported a 7% drop in new business volumes due to a reduction in tied agents. However, this was offset by growth in single-premium annuity sales. Momentum Metropolitan Health experienced a 2% (y/y) membership increase to 1.25 million, driven by 5% growth in the public sector and 20% in Health4Me. Looking forward, MMH plans to focus on increasing new business volumes, enhancing its sales mix and reducing costs amidst a challenging economic environment.
