The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
Local insurer Philippine American Life and General Insurance (Philam Life) will join major investments to put up infrastructure as part of its aim to help the local economy to reach its full potential.
Philam CEO Ariel Aibee Cantos said Philam Life will be aggressive in exploring investment opportunities in government and private infrastructure.
Cantos said that in the Skyway and Cavite roads projects, Philam Life had already infused investments but he said the company will also invest in energy projects, particular in renewable energy.
He said that aside from plans to infuse huge capital for infrastructure buildup, the company will seek to grow its core business by employing thousands of young or so-called millenial financial advisors to boost financial literacy and insurance coverage among Filipinos.
Insurance penetration rate in the country remains at a low 1.75 percent of the population which is the least in the ASEAN region which has an average of 3.4 percent insurance penetration rate.
Philam Life, which has total assets of P236.4 billion as of the end of December 2015, believes that the right product and right people will lead to higher insurance penetration.
“With the right products and the right people, we have a lot of opportunities to penetrate the market,” Cantos said.
Philam is beefing up its recruitment campaign to find and develop more champions of life insurance.
Cantos said that 190 financial advisors were sent recently in London for training and the company is planning to hold more seminars abroad in the future.
He added 54 percent of its workforce belong to the millennial generation or those who reached adult age by 2000.
“Our financial advisors get the support they need to be highly productive, collaborative, dynamic and tech savvy. to have a good understanding of their clients in a fun and nurturing environment,” Cantos said.
Explaining further on the growth opportunities for Philam, Cantos said that the company has confidence in the new administration in keeping the economy growing fueled by consumption and remittances as well as earnings from BPO (business process outsourcing) firms.
He, however, said inflation tipping on the upside at two percent but he still believes that the disposable income of Filipinos remain strong and will provide opportunities for higher insurance coverage for the population.
“In recent years, positive changes have indeed come to the Philippine insurance industry, as reflected in the diversity of protection and investment products that show thoughtful consideration of the particular needs of individuals,” Philam Life said.
The company cited Insurance Commission (IC) data showing that insurance industry’s assets grew by 20.56 percent at P1.29 trillion during the first half of 2016.
“Today is the right time to talk about life insurance because it has continued to evolve. From primarily protecting the income of the breadwinner, life insurance has expanded to many use silk helping a child get the best education, to helping the sick get well, and to ensuring a comfortable retirement. Now, in addition to being there when something happens, Philam Life is an active partner for life to help people live longer, healthier, and better lives,” Cantos said.
Philam Life has P236.4 billion in total assets as of 31 December 2015 and has delivered timely payouts of over P10 billion in education benefits (2004-2015) and over P131 billion in insurance benefits (1950-2015), while serving close to 600,000 individual policyholders and over 2 million insured group members.