Generali leveraging on SM empire

MANILA, Philippines – The challenge for the future BDO Life Assurance Co. Inc. (presently known as Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Co.), is how to leverage on the magnitude of BDO Unibank Inc. and the SM Group of Companies.

Generali Pilipinas was acquired by BDO in June this year, and they are now taking all required legal steps to rename it BDO Life.

For Generali Pilipinas president and chief executive officer Renato A. Vergel de Dios, the change of name is a mere technicality. The bigger challenge is how to leverage the BDO and the SM brand.

“How do we maximize the brand now that there are no more leakages,” Vergel de Dios said.

BDO operates a combined 1,018 branch network (including One Network Bank) while Generali Pilipinas manages 760 financial advisors (FAs). Nearly 900 branches are BDO brands that allows the FAs to service all the clients of all the branches.

One Network Bank (ONB) was just acquired but already Vergel de Dios is crafting a product suited for the country’s largest rural bank.

“ONB is a different animal, thus the products are more designed for the micro level,” he explained.

Generali Pilipinas principally relies on bancassurance (selling products within a bank’s branch network) to market its life insruance products. It is now looking at other insurance products outside of the purview of the FAs, such as group insurance.

Even before the full take over of Generali Pilipinas, the insurer was steadily growing its premium sale and income.

At the end of the first nine months of 2015, total premium income grew by 28 percent versus same period last year.

Bulk of the growth came from individual life business, which improved by 32 percent. New business alone spiked up by 40 percent.

“In fact, renewal premiums went up by 28 percent,” the insurer said.

Group’s life business reflected steady growth at 14 percent.

Likewise, recurring premium variable life product solutions introduced back in last quarter of 2013 contributed nearly 50 percent of new business to date.

Last year, Generali Pilipinas’ total premium income amounted to roughly P5 billion, placing it ninth of the 31 life insurers.

In terms of net income, Generali Pilipinas ranked seventh with P840 million.

The marching orders in the next two to three years, is to barge into the top five players.