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rivate insurer PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, part of American giant multinational insurance corporation American International Group, Inc. (AIG), expects to become one of the top players in Indonesia'€™s general insurance market with a focus on consumer insurance and commercial insurance.

CEO of AIG Insurance Indonesia, Jon-Paul Jones, said that the company aimed for 20 percent growth in premium revenues from its consumer and commercial products next year and 50 percent growth in other lines of business.

'€œThe importance of insurance will be very clear if we look at construction projects and infrastructure developments that are taking place in Indonesia. As we have seen growth in prior years, we certainly see growth ahead in many years to come,'€ he said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

According to its half-year financial statement, AIG Insurance Indonesia posted Rp 402.41 billion (US$33.34 million) in total gross premium, compared to Rp 663.1 billion at the end of last year.

The company paid Rp 149.64 billion in gross claims from January to June this year, compared to a total of Rp 192.07 billion at the end of last year.

Despite slower macro economic growth, Jones was convinced that there would not be any shortage of demand for insurance. AIG saw Indonesia as having a large potential for growth, along with its other branches in the Asia-Pacific region, due to the country'€™s growing middle-class population as well as the general amount of wealth. But the population'€™s use of insurance products remains very low.

'€œWe are very excited with future prospects promised by the new government as the former administration has driven considerable growth to the country'€™s market,'€ he added.

Jones also said that one of the largest growth areas next year should be in commercial property. There should be a lot of new construction taking place as new infrastructure projects usually lead to property expansion.

'€œThe second driver of commercial division is probably more on the financial lines area, where we have 40 percent of the market share here in Indonesia. We also have some deep expertise around financial lines products,'€ he said.

With respect to retail businesses, Jones said that the AIG branch in Indonesia expected to push travel insurance businesses next year as it was currently one of the top players in travel insurance with nearly 20 percent of the market share at the domestic level.

AIG Insurance Indonesia has recently launched new travel insurance products with Singapore Airlines and Silk Air as well as strengthened its strategic relationship with Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

AIG Indonesia'€™s total assets reached Rp 1.16 trillion in the first six months of the year. The company posted a Rp 14.61 billion loss in the January-June period versus a Rp 39.63 billion loss reported at the end of December last year.