Philam Life: Most Pinoys still not keen on financial security

CEBU, Philippines - Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life) revealed that Filipinos still lack education on financial security and prosperity, thus aiming to promote and strengthen literacy among people and reach out to a large market that still remains untapped. Philam Life President and Chief Executive Officer Rex Mendoza said that common Filipinos spend more money on entertainment than education.

Unlike savings and investments, he noted that many Filipinos do not perceive life insurance to have positive impact on the achievement of one’s dreams.

“Some, if not most Filipinos, even believe in betting in the lotto more than getting insurance,” he said.

With such perception, he said that the company has committed itself to intensify its campaign on financial literacy through year-long series of wealth management forums nationwide as part of the educational track of the public.

He added that although Cebu is a fast-rising province when it comes to financial management and education, it is still lagging behind in terms of standardization in the metropolis like Metro Manila.

He cited that Cebu has a 10% share of the total Philam market and the company aims to grow such figure.

Mendoza clarified that it is not a matter of the economic growth and wealth of the province but on the capability of Cebuanos to make wise decisions on money matters.

“There is nothing wrong to have luxurious products for as long as we’re not hedging our future security. Our thrust here in Cebu is to be intense and aggressive on the recruitment side,” he stated.

He added that Cebuanos already have an advantage since they are responsible, only that they should have a clear access to financial security.

Cecile Lizares, Philam Life Director of Agencies in Visayas, said that a typical Cebuano invests in a banking institution rather than insurance coverage.

She added that the company still has to tap more people to provide them with better and more options of investments for their plans in the future.

Meanwhile, Philam Life Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing Jessica Abaya noted that only four percent of the Filipinos are insured.

She added that the company eyes to create greater awareness on the need of insurance as the insurance market is underdeveloped.

“We need to let the people know. Life insurance is urgent and real and the best time to think of life insurance is today,” she continued.

She cited that with P44-investment a day and P16,000 a year, an individual can have a life insurance coverage of P1.5 million which could increase from 5 to 10% depending on life-stage conditions.

In its 65-year legacy, Philam Life recently introduced its Unit-Linked Products (ULP) that provides both life protection coverage and the opportunity to grow earnings by investing in funds most common Filipinos won’t have access to.

One of the first ULP’s launched was the Bright Future Invest (BFI) which is an investment and education plan-in-one that gives policyholders the opportunity to build an education fund with high growth potential, allowing them to send their children to their dream universities amidst rising costs of education.

Family Secure, another ULP set to be launched, is a high-value life insurance plan that secures the family’s needs during critical working years and which could be converted into a retirement fund as the policy holder gets older.

Aside from their bases of operation in Makati, Alabang, Manila, and Cubao, the company relocates its offices to central business districts particularly in Bonifacio Global City, Cebu, and Iloilo.

Philam Life also continues to strengthen its agency force and empower its agents to become premier financial planners and managers through further knowledge, training, technology, and expertise.

Mendoza then encouraged young individuals to discover a rewarding career in the insurance industry as the company recently launched its Premier Agency Recruitment Advertising campaign that intends to appeal to the younger market.

Also this year, he said all Ayala-FGU buildings will be renamed BPI-Philam as part of its growth and expansion.

The company also unveiled its new logo, building signage and color that defines Philam Life as part of the AIA Group, the largest independent publicly-listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world.