’08 sales split by key product
Personalised Portfolio Bond 82%
Source: Irish Life International
ful than most of its larger
competitors in coping with
the difficulties of dealing
with local marketing and
general good provisions in
multiple markets.
l Distribution
With the independent
intermediary channel not
being the prevalent form of
life insurance distribution
in most EU markets, ILI’s
distribution strategy is
always going to be a limiting
factor. Nevertheless, ILI
has managed to identify
and support this channel in
the markets it services with
some success.
As the changing distribution
landscape in the EU
evolves, ILI is having to
adapt its strategy accordingly
with, for instance, a
move to distributing
through tied agents in
Finland following regulatory
changes in the adviser
market there.
l Multi-lingual ability
ILI targets mainly local
national clients. As penetration
of individual markets
has increased over the
years, as many cross-border
companies have experienced,
ILI’s products have
been picked up by high
net worth local nationals
Portfolio Bond 15%
International
Investors Bond 3%
looking to benefit from, in
particular, the open architecture
product structures
available.
As a result, ILI has
migrated from a predominately
English languageonly
business to having a
truly multilingual capability
in all aspects of its business
including product literature,
sales representation,
technical support and
policy administration. This
multilingual capability now
means ILI conducts business
in a total of ten different
languages.
l Trial and error
Longevity and, in some
instances, its ‘first mover’
status have ensured that ILI
has often been cast in the
role of ‘cross-border frontiersman’
in many of the
markets it has entered.
The company has
gained much of its experience
and know-how as a
result of a trial-and-error
process that has evolved
into a clear strategy whereby
it chooses to target specific
upscale niche client
groups and does not seek
to compete head on with
local market offerings targeted
at retail consumers.
Having produced a
range of capital protected
products in the early part
of the decade and developed
recurring single premium
savings products for
some markets, ILI has now
settled on two single premium
bond product structures
that have been adapted
to the specific needs of
each local market.
Each of these generic
products operates under a
unique product name in
each of the markets in
which they are available.
Unfettered bonds are available
in all markets on
either a pooled basis,
linked to collective investment
schemes only, or on
a fully open architecture
basis, with links to virtually
any asset including stocks
and shares.
l Multi-manager
In Spain and the UK, there
is also a fettered bond available
which links to ILI’s
innovative range of multimanager
funds. Since its
inception in 1994, it has
developed a multi-manager
approach to designing a
fund range available for
all investors. The performance
of all the managers is
monitored continually and
managers are replaced if
they fail consistently to
achieve above average
performance.
l Looking to the future
Building on the lessons
learned over the last 15
years, ILI’s future plans
include deeper penetration
of existing markets to
include a wider investor
base of local nationals. In
addition, it has just entered
the French market and
plans to enter two additional
countries over the next
year and to further develop
its online services to serve
the needs of distributors
and investors alike.
company pRoFILE IRIsh LIFE IntERnatIonaL
UndER thE spotLIght
MarK MagUIrE, CEo, IrIsH LIfE INTErNaTIoNaL
How long have you been CEo of Irish Life
International?
I took over the reins in May 2007 having been
head of actuarial and product development with
the company since 1996.
What is your career background?
I am an actuary by profession. My first role was in the UK where
I worked for Wesleyan assurance before joining ILI.
What do you see as the key issues facing the offshore life industry
over the next two to three years?
In the current climate the industry faces increased attention from
regulators and fiscal authorities. There will be changes to the EU
savings tax directive affecting life insurance and, as countries try
to shore up their finances, more effort by governments to close
tax loopholes and incentives. There will also be new solvency
and governance requirements. It will become more difficult for
companies to operate without being fully locally compliant. We feel
we are well placed to deal with these challenges. firms will have
to move quickly to adapt to changes and demonstrate value added
beyond pure tax planning if they are to survive.
What have you set as the strategic direction of the company?
We are concentrating on the EU where we have proven our ability
to deliver innovative products in partnership with our distributors.
We will further broaden our product range and deepen our
presence in our existing markets. We are also selectively entering
new markets, such as france and the Netherlands, where we
believe we have a competitive advantage for our product. This
goes hand-in-hand with our drive to constantly improve all aspects
of service delivery.
as such we have invested significantly in a complete upgrade
of our IT platform that we expect will allow us to provide enhanced
service via the web. We are monitoring EU developments for crossborder
pensions with a view to offering our recently developed
pension products for finland and sweden in other EU markets.
There is a huge opportunity for cross border pensions, but change
is required at EU level to unlock that potential.
What are the key challenges facing you now?
right now the key challenge is not only to guide the company
through the current market downturn but to go further and seize
the opportunity to enhance everything we do to be prepared for
the inevitable upswing. We have invested through this period in our
back-office capability with new IT systems, our service team and our
product range. Ironically, we have never had so many opportunities
to increase our distribution and the key challenge is to convert those
opportunities with the resources available.
What makes your brand and company unique/special?
The first thing, obviously, is our connection to Ireland and to our
parent Irish Life. ILI has stood the test of time and is one of the
oldest of the original IfsC-based life companies. Thereafter it is our
singular focus on building a true EU cross-border company – in the
sense that we operate in each market in the local language using
local compliant and tailored products. Without a captive distribution
of our own we have learned how to work very closely with partners
in our various markets and we have developed a unique ability to
partner with and meet the needs of our distribution.
How would you describe your company culture?
Largely as a result of our diverse markets, ILI has a culture that
is open to change, with huge energy and a real can-do, solutionoriented
attitude. There is always something happening and there
is never a dull moment.
mAy 2009 [www.international-adviser.com] INTERNATIONAL ADVISER
25
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