The country's premiere life insurer, Philam Life gears up for bigger milestones this year 2014. As the Filipino-Chinese community ushers in the Year of the Wood Horse, Philam Life kick started the new Chinese year with its annual dragon parade held in Binondo.
Philam Life head of Marketing, Jessica Abaya shared to us that Philam's Chinese New Year celebration is a gesture of solidarity with and respect for the Filipino-Chinese community.
“Philam Life is part of the AIA group, a leading Pan-Asian life insurance organization across Asia Pacific, which has roots in Shanghai, China. This celebration is important to us as it affirms our deep roots in Asia,” she said.
Philam Life’s Chinese New Year dragon is known for being the largest parade dragon in the Philippines.
Long-standing tradition
During the celebration, Abaya also noted that the Chinese “highly value face time when they interact with anyone for business purposes.”
“Aside from our long-standing tradition of welcoming the Chinese New Year in Binondo, Philam Life has year-round activities that aim to help the Filipino-Chinese community achieve their financial goals through our products and services,” she added.
“We hold regular client forums wherein we discuss current economic conditions, wealth management principles, and applicable product solutions.”
While the Filipino-Chinese market has the same financial needs as other life insurance clients, they prefer products with earning potential, thus the tendency to purchase investment or savings products. Philam Life is also doubling efforts to undertake a more specialized recruitment strategy to be able to serve the Filipino-Chinese community better.
Winning year
In 2013, the Philippines’ largest life insurer reinforced its leadership when it bested 16 other AIA countries and won both AIA Premier League Gold Cup and the AIA Champions League Gold Cup. This recognition highlights Philam Life’s outstanding performance in achieving its growth targets specifically in new business and annualized new premiums. The award also recognized the company’s leadership style that focuses on continually improving the quality of the company’s business.
Philam Life’s recent milestone reflects the robust performance of the local insurance industry, which also grew significantly last year. According to data from the Insurance Commission, total industry premium income ballooned to P135 billion as of third quarter of 2013 from P82.6 billion in the same period in 2012.
Improving financial literacy
With bigger milestones in store for 2014, Philam Life sustains its commitment as The Real Life Company that is genuinely engaged in real people’s lives through meaningful dialogue, and empowers them to achieve financial security and prosperity by providing solutions and plans that turn their real-life struggles into success.
To enable their clients to turn dreams into reality, the life insurance leader bared plans to drive financial literacy programs in key markets through strategic partnerships. “This year, Philam Life will reach out to more Filipinos through our financial planning programs in tandem with partners from key sectors — OFWs, parents, entrepreneurs and employees,” said Abaya.
Abaya also shared product plans for the year. “Right now, only 16 percent of Filipinos say they’re financially prepared for health setbacks. And since Filipinos still prefer unit-linked products especially after the country was upgraded to investment grade, Philam Life will launch a unit-linked health product early this 2014 to address this key yet unmet need,” she added.
Rey Centeno, Philam Life Chief Operating Officer, noted that there is a lot of opportunity to increase insurance penetration in the country especially given the Philippines’ demographic window which is expected to begin in 2015 and last until 2050.
“Data from the National Statistical Coordination Board projected a population of almost 103 million Filipinos by 2015, of which more than 65 million will be aged 15 to 64. The United Nations defines demographic window as the period “when more people or a prominent portion of the population is of working age,” Centeno said.
Financial planning made easy
According to a Philam Life Brand Tracking Study in 2010, limited accessibility is a key barrier for Filipinos who do not own a life insurance policy. Another significant barrier is the apparent complexity of how insurance works (Philam Life Consumer Study 2010).
To bridge this gap, Philam Life commits to make financial planning easier and more accessible for more Filipinos by launching new programs and applications. The nine-time Reader’s Digest Asia Platinum Trusted Brand award winner is set to become the first local insurance company to use an iPad-based Interactive Point of Sale (iPoS) — a paperless platform that allows proposal presentations, filling out of policy owner details, and even signing of applications to be done through the financial adviser’s iPad.
The company is also launching ePlan, a convenient customer self-service online facility for policy inquiries, transactions and payments. Philam Life policyholders can now choose to go online, instead of calling the hotline, for faster and real-time transactions.
“We at Philam Life are dedicated to making dreams and goals real for our clients,” Abaya said. “Regardless of what their Chinese zodiac forecasts say, Philam Life is dedicated to empower more Filipinos to achieve financial security and rein in prosperity this Year of the Wood Horse.”
Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said that the upcoming event is a follow through to the recent (sectoral) Social Development Initiatives Summit held in Davao City that aimed to flesh out the social development agenda of the administration.
