Life and health insurer Desjardins Financial Security today reported its second-quarter profit rose 77% to $68.4 million from a year-earlier $38.7 million.

The insurer, owned by the Desjardins Group financial services firm, said its insurance premium income was up 12.4% t to $598.1 million, whiles sales for the quarter totalled $112 million.

Assets under management and administration totalled $22.4 billion, for an increase of $1.6 billion since the beginning of the year.

Commenting on these results, Mr. Alban D’Amours, president and CEO of Desjardins Group, and also CEO of Desjardins Financial Security, said he was very pleased with the remarkable progress the Company had made in the Canadian market. “Desjardins Financial Security continues to differentiate itself in the Canadian marketplace, where it is enjoying a great deal of success, especially in the group and business insurance market. The quality and added value of Desjardins Financial Security’s product offering is getting more and more recognition in the public and parapublic sectors and giving the Company an edge over its main competitors.”