FWD Life bares aggressive 5-year plan

New player eyes top 5 spot by 2020 

MANILA, Philippines - FWD Life Insurance Corp. Philippines has a five-year plan that should install it among the top five players by the start of 2020.

It is on course to register total premium income of P2.5 billion by end 2015.

FWD Life Philippines president and chief executive officer Peter Karl Grimes claims that it was a record of sorts that a new entrant in the country’s life insurance industry reached premium income size in a little over a year in operation.

FWD Life Philippine is a subsidiary of FWD, which in turn is the insurance arm of Pacific Century Group. It started commercial operations in September 2014.

“In the first semester this year, total premium income amounted to just under a billion pesos. But that was good enough to land us in 14th overall standing,” Grimes said in a press briefing yesterday.

To achieve five-year target, it forged a bancassurance partnership with the Security Banking Corp. The partnership allows FWD’s 100 financial solutions consultants (FSC) to market its products through the bank’s 250 branches and its client base.

In turn, the bank earns fee-based earnings from commissions for the sale of insurance policies.

FWD Life Philippines has an individual customer base of 10,000.

Grimes said that the aspiration is for the FSC to hit 200 by the end of 2016, and the sales force to balloon to 2,000 from the existing 1,000.

The agency force is expected to contribute greater numbers next year as FWD Life Philippines will be introducing more products next year.

Through its bancassurance distribution channel, it sells three variable unit linked (VULs) life insurance products, including four protection riders and a health insurance product.

It also plans to open five new branches next year.

The third distribution channel would be electronic and social media, multi- and omni channel.

Similar to what it is doing in Hongkong through its digital platform, iFWD, the Philippine counterpart wants electronic and digital social media to play a significant role in the expansion of premiums, customer base, and fulfilling five-year growth strategy.

FWD Life Philippines is the first foreign insurer to enter the market post-industry liberalization and under the amended Philippine insurance code. It was required to pay a minimum paid-up capital of P1 billion, plus over P250 million was working capital.