Philam Life opens P2B center in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) officially opened its P2 billion, 16-storey building in Cebu yesterday.

The Cebu PhilAm Life Center, located at the Cebu Business Park, is a concrete testament of the company's commitment and confidence of Cebu and Southern Philippine's economic strength, said Philam Life chief executive officer  Aibee Cantos in his speech during yesterday morning's grand opening ceremony.

At present, there are nine offices and over 700 agents, serving the more than 70 thousand customers in the Visayas. The opening of the PhilAm Life Center in Cebu underpinned the company's leadership in the industry in this side of the country, added Cantos.

The company broke ground in February of 2015.

According to Cantos, Philam will play a significant role in expanding the life insurance penetration in the country, which as of now is still lagging behind its counterparts in ASEAN.

Now on its 70th year, Cantos said the company is prepared to increase the current 1.5 percent insurance penetration of the Philippines, far lower than the average three percent in other ASEAN countries.

Its move of heightening the penetration rate will be channeled through by the introduction of "out-of-the-box" products and services that will not only limit to financial literacy but will include a total solution of lifestyle and wellness.

The Cebu PhilAm Life Center is the second largest building installed by the company in the Philippines, after the 44-storey PhilAm center located in Makati City.

About 10 percent of the 24,000 square-meter leasable area will be used by the PhilAm Group, the rest will be made available for tenants, such as outsourcing, and other corporate offices.

PhilAm Life corners over 20 percent of the entire life insurance industry in the Philippines, making them one of the largest players in the insurance sector in the country.

Designed as one of the first Prime Buildings in Cebu, the architectural landmark and is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certified.

Cantos said Prime Buildings are the highest rating given by top real estate consultants to buildings.

PhilAm Life Cantos said is the country's strongest life insurance company in 2016, with over 700 thousand plan-holders, and paid a total amount of P10 billion during the year. (FREEMAN)