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T Asuransi Cigna, the local arm of US-based insurer Cigna, is expecting steady growth this year as people become increasingly aware of the importance of insurance, following the government'€™s introduction of the universal healthcare program earlier this year.

The insurance company also plans to roll out several new products this year to cater to people'€™s needs.

Asuransi Cigna'€™s deputy country manager, Julian Mengual, said at a press conference on Tuesday that he expected the company'€™s premium income to grow by over 10 percent this year.

Last year, the insurer saw 17 percent premium growth to Rp 1.03 trillion (US$89.6 million) from Rp 878 billion in 2012. It also posted 35 percent growth in sales.

In the first quarter of this year, Asuransi Cigna'€™s premium income grew by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Mengual.

'€œI think last year'€™s growth was very much driven by the growing middle class, while this year it will be driven by the rise of people'€™s awareness of [the importance of] insurance with the launch of the universal healthcare program by the government,'€ he said.

While Indonesians'€™ awareness about insurance was rising, insurance penetration in the country stayed low at around 1.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to Williem Hoesen, vice president of Client Market Medical Insurance-Asia Swiss Re.

'€œThis situation isn'€™t necessarily bad; it is a very good opportunity for insurance companies operating in the country,'€ he said.

Quoting a recent survey conducted by Swiss Re in six major countries across Asia, Williem said as much as 29 percent of Indonesians had expressed their willingness to purchase insurance in the near future, while another 44 percent had already thought about buying.

These figures surpassed those of Thailand, with 28 percent and 40 percent, respectively, he said.

In addition, Mengual said, to attract more customers in Indonesia, Asuransi Cigna would be launching three new products and one special product in the second half of 2014.

'€œWe have one [product] that focuses on the mass segment, and we have two that focus more on critical illness,'€ he said.

Mengual said that Cigna would also launch another new product specially dedicated to Indonesian consumers during the fasting month of Ramadhan, with premiums set at between Rp 10,000 and Rp 100,000.

He said he was upbeat that the products would be significant contributors to his firm'€™s business; in similar fashion to the launch of the firm'€™s previous product, Family Eazicare, which helped boost its sales by up to 25 percent last year.

Mengual said besides planning the launch of new products, Cigna would also be expanding its operations to second-tier cities nationwide.

'€œWe'€™re looking at cities like Yogyakarta right now. We haven'€™t fully decided yet, but our intention is to find potential cities and place people,'€ he said.

Asuransi Cigna currently operates in several major cities in the country, namely Jakarta; Medan, North Sumatra; Surabaya, East Java; Bandung, West Java; and Semarang, Central Java.

The firm'€™s parent company, Cigna, is among the top-five health insurance companies in the US with more than 11 million insurers. However, Asuransi Cigna is more low-profile in Indonesia, with greater focus on branding, face-to-face meetings and telemarketing to distribute its products.