INSURANCE AVAILMENT. Insurance penetration in the Philippines remains at less than 2 percent, Manulife Philippines chief marketing officer Sonali Verma says in a press briefing in Makati City on Monday (March 18, 2024). She is hopeful that awareness campaigns will help encourage Filipinos to avail of insurance. (Photo courtesy of Sonali Verma Linkedin)
MANILA – Manulife Philippines is hoping that the projected easing of inflation this year and efforts to educate Filipinos about insurance costs will translate to increased availment.
In a briefing in Makati City on Monday, Manulife Philippines chief marketing officer Sonali Verma said easing inflation can be one of the factors that will allow people to have extra money to avail of insurance.
"We are already seeing an increase since Covid times in the growth a year-on-year growth right. So definitely there are two (to) three factors working there. Definitely, inflation going down is one. So the cost of living hopefully will start to go down," Verma said.
Inflation, which went as high as more than 8 percent in the early part of 2023, already settled within the government's 2 to 4 percent.
However, Verma said that while inflation is expected to continue to go down, the industry must ramp up efforts to educate Filipinos about the importance of insurance.
"Specifically in the Philippines, from the time that I've spent here.... the awareness has to go up in terms of how much is needed to protect yourself and your family. I think there is a bit of... in appreciating that very little is needed to get started and start early," she said.
At present, insurance penetration in the Philippines is only at around less than 2 percent.
"The healthcare cost, perception of healthcare cost, isn't easy, especially after Covid. So generally, it is perceived that you know healthcare is becoming more and more expensive," Verma said.
"So we have to also fight that. And it's on the industry to decide that perception. I think we need to do a better job of educating that it's not that expensive," she said.
Verma is hopeful that once inflation further eases and perception on cost changes, insurance penetration will increase.
"So I think it will settle down sometime in the next couple of years where hopefully, the inflation keeps trending down and the perception of healthcare cost [changes], we can get a hold off," she added. (PNA)
