By INDERIA SAUNDERS, Guardian Business Reporter

Famguard is reporting some pretty good news considering the economy, pointing to a net income of $2.2 million for the third quarter—a near 40 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

Largely responsible for that strong performance is net premium revenue and deposits, which had grown to $19.2m for the three months ending September 30. That's more than a $3 million jump from the same period in 2007. Still, the good news doesn't end there.

"At the end of September 2008 net income before unrealized gains and losses on equities increased by 15 percent to $5.2 million for the same period in 2007," said Chairman Norman Boissiere in a message to shareholders. "Spurred by strong growth in our ordinary life and group health portfolios, our premium income and deposits grew by $6.9 million or 14.5 percent over prior year-to-date."

Oddly enough, even in this tough climate, investment income for the third quarter had risen to $2.3 million from $2.19 million, relative to that same period a year ago.

Among the drag factors, however, were growth in the benefits paid out, a leap just short of $2 million for the quarter relative to the year-ago period. Small jumps in operating and bad debt expenses also played roles in limiting the scope of good news for the Family Guardian parent.

Still, the strong third quarter had a bolstering effect on results for the nine months ended September 30, 2008. The financial services giant is reporting net income of $5.2 million for that period relative to the $6.5 million it realized for the same nine month period in 2007. That's despite the more than $6 million rise in net premium revenue and deposits over the same period—arguably a significant accomplishment in this tightening economy. The end result was a total income of $61 million, or $5 million more than what the company brought in a year earlier.

Like all major institutional investors in this country, Famguard continues to grapple with declining values for its equities investments. That's understandable given the near 13 percent year-to-date decline in the BISX All Share Index.

"Continued weakness in the local equities market caused an unrealized loss of $737k through the third quarter compared to an unrealized gain of $1.37 million at September 30, 2007 resulting in a 12 month negative swing of $2.14 million," Boissiere said in that same message to shareholders.

A public company, Famguard is itself traded on the local exchange, which is increasingly volatile as some investors seek to cash out on in order to meet short term liquidity needs.

The domestic insurance industry is now beginning to reflect those tough times. Still in an earlier interview Famguard President Patricia Hermanns suggested the company's core life and health business remains relatively recession-resistant, if not recession-proof. The assessment is predicate on the idea Bahamians are willing to shed other expenses in order to protect health insurance, especially as layoffs mount and job security fears become widespread.

Famguard isn't however resting on its laurels, with its continuing push into other aspects of financial services. Only months ago, an administrator for its FG Financial mutual funds suggested consumer interest remains strong for that newly launched product. The boosterism came with one proviso, namely increasing indication that Bahamians are looking to limit exposure to risk. That translates into a preference for Famguard's Preferred and Diversified funds, neither exclusively relying on equities investments.