Sun Life sees insurance recovery post-pandemic

MANILA, Philippines  — The Philippine insurance industry is expected to recover post-pandemic as more Filipinos see the need for financial protection and security, insurance executives said.

During a virtual press briefing, Sun Life Philippines chief executive officer and country head Benedict Sison said the COVID-19 crisis heightened the importance of financial services products.

“Because of that, we see that immediately after, once they overcome this pandemic, we’ll have a rebound in the insurance industry, and we’ve seen that in other markets outside the Philippines,” Sison said.

Chief marketing and client officer Mylene Lopa added that Sun Life has seen an increasing interest for insurance products, particularly for those offering health protection.

“We received a lot of inquiries on our social media platforms, inquiring about health. The products that they are most interested in are health insurance products,” she said.

However, Sison said financial literacy in the Philippines is “still evolving,” with many people not yet aware of the benefits of insurance.

In fact, he said there has been no spike in the volume of insurance claims despite expectations due to the COVID-19 situation, indicating the low insurance penetration in the country.

As of end-September 2019, insurance penetration in the country stood at 1.69 percent, according to the Insurance Commission.

“One of the things that we were expecting to happen because of this pandemic is a spike in claims. But you know, we have not experienced this spike in claims,” Sison said.

“And perhaps one of the reasons why we haven’t experienced a spike in claim is because not everyone who has been impacted by COVID-19 has insurance coverage. And that’s really an indication that the Philippines remains to be an underpenetrated market for individual insurance.”

“And the question is, why are we such an underpenetrated market. I believe that’s because financial literacy in the Philippines is still evolving,” he added.

Based on a survey conducted by Sun Life, 13 percent out of more than 500 Filipino respondents are very prepared for the “new normal” with recovery plans in place.

Around 49 percent of the respondents are somewhat ready, 27 percent neutral, 10 percent somewhat not ready, and one percent not ready at all.

Lopa said the top action plan revolves around saving and building a bigger emergency fund (68 percent), followed by increasing investments and seeking more financial advice (57 percent).

“We find this particularly useful information for us in Sun Life because this is an area we can really help Filipinos with. And I guess what has happened during this situation is that most Filipinos have now become more aware of the importance of putting aside savings and having an emergency fund,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sun Life marketing business support head Cary Casipit said the company is targeting to reach more business owners and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as they are among the segments that were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In line with this, he said Sun Life designed the Sun Future Proof for Business Owners program. This involves the conduct of forums and webinars for entrepreneurs, a specialized advisor learning program on family business governance and succession planning, and the provision of benefits and financial wellness programs to employees of businesses.