Insurance company targets low-income clients

The low level of insurance penetration in the Philippines, especially among the poor, along with the economic recovery, are among the opportunities EastWest Ageas says will boost business in the long term.

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Friday, EastWest Ageas Insurance President and CEO Sjord Smits said that due to the country’s lower level of financial literacy compared to advanced economies, Filipinos are not interested in actually getting insurance. coating. .

That, he says, is why the company, a Belgian-headquartered joint venture between local bank EastWest Bank and Ageas, has begun using its agency power to expand its footprint.

Since the agency’s inception in the second half of 2022, they now have about 120 insurance agents, Smits said, and the goal is to increase that number to nearly 1,000 by the end of 2023.

He said that Filipinos in general still prefer to talk to insurance agents to explain the value of life insurance to them, as evidenced by the country’s under 3% insurance penetration rate.

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“Filipinos don’t look for insurance themselves. They are more approached and somehow convinced that life insurance is good for them,” he said.

While some insurance companies are using millennials as agents to encourage more people to get coverage, Smits said their current agents are seniors in their 40s and 50s with million-dollar certificates from other companies.

Smits said they aim to double their sales in two to three years from their current 257,000 customers, which is a combination of individual and group memberships.

He said most of their clients are in their 40s, but they also target the younger generation, most of whom are not yet focused on getting insurance coverage but are primarily enjoying life by spending money on food and better places to live.

“People have to go through certain stages in their lives before insurance becomes their top priority,” he added.

Smits said they also plan to launch micro-insurance and accident-related products to encourage more people to get insured.

He said they are looking to increase the number of Filipinos with lower wages, citing that most of those with insurance today are wealthier people.

“Our goal is not to increase market share. Our goal is to protect more Filipinos,” he said.