MANUFACTURERS Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines) has ventured into the broad insurance market with its first low-cost product.
The new product, FirstProtect, was designed to address the need to insure the majority of the Philippine population, Manulife Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Indren S. Naidoo said in a statement on Friday.
“The number of Filipinos without life or accident protection is staggering, and the country’s insurance penetration rate is among the lowest in the Asia region at around 13%,” Mr. Naidoo said.
“For families who are just making ends meet, even a small accident can be financially catastrophic. In addition, families may not have the opportunity to save for the future,” he explained.
FirstProtect provides life and accident protection for 10 years, with premiums as low as P471 per month.
It guarantees to pay out 100% of the coverage amount upon the death of the policyholder within the 10-year policy period. Should the death be due to an accident, the policy pays an additional 200% of the coverage amount, tripling the total payout to beneficiaries.
Policyholders can also enjoy a maturity benefit should they survive after the policy period, with 25% of their premiums to be returned.
The product provides accidental death and disability coverages as well.
The insured can also apply for cash loans for emergencies and other needs.
Meanwhile, a variant, FirstProtect Plus, gives policyholders both protection and savings by entitling them dividend earnings. These can be claimed as cash, diverted as premium payments or left with the company to earn interest. FirstProtect Plus policyholders can receive 50% of their premiums back after the 10-year period.
“Manulife believes insurance should be a necessity and not a luxury.
Through FirstProtect, we have created an affordable, reliable and forward-thinking product to help anyone prepare for the future,” Mr. Naidoo said.
Manulife Philippines was the country’s eighth largest insurer in premium terms in 2009. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co., the insurance company of Canada-based Manulife Financial Corp.
The company decided to venture into microinsurance or insurance for the low-income segment this year because of the success of a microinsurance product pilot-tested by Manulife Vietnam in 2009, Mr. Naidoo earlier said.
Manulife Vietnam partnered with Vietnam’s Women Union, with an estimated 13 million members, to provide a simple microinsurance life product that covered accidental death and hospitalization costs. Mr. Naidoo estimated that about 60,000 policies have been sold since its launch.
The government has been vigorously pushing microinsurance. While typical microinsurance providers include rural banks, cooperatives and mutual benefit associations, several insurance companies have expressed interest in the low-income market. Estimates have placed the number of Filipino poor -- the market for microinsurance -- at 2.9 million. -- Diane Claire J. Jiao
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CARLOS ANI - SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
Email: carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline: +63495010127 Cellphone: +639152919580
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com http://phildevfinance.wordpress.com
CONSULTING - http://www.carlosani.com
My Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
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