OREANDA-NEWS. June 07, 2011. Citadele Life, which is an insurance company that is part of the Citadele Group, became the most rapidly expanding life insurance company in Latvia in April. Data from the month show that the company’s market share in terms of new Unit-linked premiums was 59%. In comparison to the same month in 2010, that is an increase in new premiums by more than seven times over, reported the press-centre of Citadele Bank.

The rapid increase in business volumes has allowed Citadele Life to increase the value of its Unit-linked premiums by 53% to LVL 3.09 million. That represents an increase in market share to 5.05% at the end of April.

“Saving up money through life insurance policies is a good and advantageous alternative to deposits for many people, because interest rates on deposits in the banking sector remain low. Contributions toward life insurance are an effective way to save up money, also providing the client with insurance, making it possible to receive tax discounts from the state, and allowing clients to leave their savings to their heirs,” says Citadele Life board chairman Ugis Vorons.

“Our practice shows that among all types of agreements, Unit-linked policies are most popular among our clients, because they represent long-term investments which allow clients to earn more money,” Vorons adds. “Our goal is to become one of the leading players in the life insurance market in Latvia. We have been implementing a new strategy on the development of our company, and we have substantially improved the range of products, which we offer. Because of rapid growth at Citadele Life, we’ve been able to expand our operations and our staff. We are hiring active and targeted sales personnel for our team.”

Citadele Life finished the year 2010 with a profit of LVL 40.545, which was 48% more than in 2009.

About Citadele Bank
Citadele is the largest local Bank in Latvia with branch offices in other countries. AS “Citadele Banka” was established to inspire people and enterprises to growth and enhance regional development. It is the only collaboration partner of American Express® in Latvia and Lithuania who is entitled to issue American Express credit cards. Presently, 75% of its shares are owned by Privatization Agency and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development possesses 25% plus one of its shares. The value of Citadele Bank’s assets is 1.4 billion Lats.