Over the 45 years of our existence, Perla Insurance has developed a hard-earned reputation for excellence and dependability, built on our steadfast resolve to stand by our commitments to our customers, in good times as well as bad. We made sure that these commitments to our customers was demonstrated to them in no uncertain terms, in both physical as well as intangible ways:

     -When the company began to branch out to provincial markets throughout the Philippines, we made a conscious and deliberate decision to invest in our own buildings, so that we could show the insuring public that the promise we made with every insurance policy we sold was fully backed by assets.

     -We decentralized our branch operations because we believed every customer was different and we wanted our teams on the ground at each location to have the flexibility and authority to provide quick and customized attention to our customers’ needs.

     -Because we felt that insurance was a trust, we elected to pursue a highly conservative fiscal policy and refused to sacrifice the strength of our balance sheet to earn a higher return. We were proven right in our choice in 1997, when we easily weathered the Asian financial crisis that brought many other companies to the brink of collapse, and yet again in 2006, when we complied with the Insurance Commission’s increased minimum net worth requirements fully five years ahead of time.

Now we are beset yet again by another crisis. We note with sadness that in the course of this particular crisis, many insurance companies, including some of the biggest and thought to be the most dependable, have failed to live up to the public trust. They have violated their social contract with consumers, shareholders, regulators, and taxpayers.

It is in times of crisis that our true character is tested. It is at times like this that we are especially proud of our company and all it has stood for, and renew our commitment to ensure that it continues to be, for all of its stakeholders, the company that its founding fathers envisioned it to be.

In 2007, Perla Insurance took a giant step forward in reaffirming this commitment when we reformulated our Vision, Mission and Values (VMV) to reflect our aspiration to remain a major player in the insurance industry. This VMV brings into sharper focus our long-held values of integrity, service excellence, and financial stability as we live out our primary mission to provide security and peace of mind to our insuring public.

But Vision must be followed by action if we wish Vision to someday become Reality. Mission must be top of mind if we wish it to guide us in the right direction. Values must be lived out in our everyday reality if we wish them to imbue our entire organization.

Our reputation was built over many years of painstaking effort. To maintain this reputation, and ultimately, to ensure our continued strength as an organization, we must continue all of our initiatives to develop a more truly customer-centered insurance company that provides value added service through empowered and highly motivated employees.

We have tried to transform our organization by developing a culture of continuous improvement and of rewarding good performance. Even as we have had to maintain tighter control over expenses, we have not been afraid to invest in what we have felt to be truly essential, especially investments in our people, in the form of high-impact training and retraining programs. We have paid special attention to targeted selection, an effort to hire the right people to do the right job. Our diligent efforts have already yielded their first rewards, with the company posting record earnings of P66 million and cash and investment holdings of P753 million as of year-end 2008.

We have inherited from our founding fathers a formidable reputation that has been built over time. It is our responsibility not to squander away this inheritance, but instead to build upon this foundation an organization that can stand the test of time, with a dedicated, competent and passionate team working collectively to make the customer experience with us truly rewarding and enjoyable.

Notwithstanding the many challenges and difficulties that continue to afflict the insurance industry and our country in general, with our combined efforts and renewed commitment to be the Perla we wish to be, a bright future awaits the company and all its stakeholders: our customers, our agents, our employees, and our shareholders.


JEFFREY LIM
President