Pioneer Life eyes premium, client buildup
INSURER Pioneer Life aims to make significant strides in the
microinsurance business this year, eyeing one million clients and P100
million in premium income.
This would represent a doubling of the insurer's microinsurance
clientele, which numbered 492,000 in 2011, yielding only P17 million in
premiums.
"We are willing to go out on a limb and be pioneers in microinsurance.
If we want to be a truly Filipino company, we need to be able to offer
insurance products for all Filipinos, not just the A and B classes,"
Pioneer Life President and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo O. Chan said
in a press conference yesterday.
While microinsurance, or insurance for the poor, makes up "the lion's
share" of Pioneer Life's policies, it accounts for just 7% of the
company's total premium income.
Microinsurance, as defined by the government, cannot be priced more than
5% of the current daily minimum wage rate of non-farm workers in the
National Capital Region.
This caps the coverage of microinsurance policies at about P8,000 and
the premiums at around P200 to P500, depending on the product.
"When we decided to venture into microinsurance, we told ourselves, we
have to be willing to take less margins," Mr. Chan said, adding that
today, "the key is to generate volume."
Pioneer Life is keen to continue its tie-up with the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines this year, allowing it to organize
Wellness and Savers Clubs in churches throughout the country.
It also has an ongoing partnership with Center for Agriculture and Rural
Development (CARD), the country's largest microfinance institution. "We
reach 1.7 million people through CARD, and so we can design specific
products for the needs of their group," Mr. Chan said, referring to the
CARD-Microinsurance Agency. The product offers coverage of up to
P100,000 for personal accidents, P20,000 in funeral benefits and P10,000
in property insurance, for an annual premium of only P250. -- Diane
Claire J. Jiao
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CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
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