Amid some indications that the coronavirus is here to stay, the Insular Life (InLife) assured that the company has the financial strength to meet its obligations to policyholders.
In an online briefing, Raoul E. Littaua, InLife president and chief executive officer said on Tuesday, Sept. 28, that the life insurance firm can overcome the pandemic-induced challenges, citing the company has a long history and prior crisis experience.
“Insular life has been around for 110-years going on 111-years,” Littaua said. “We've seen not just pandemics in the past. We've seen all sorts of disasters—manmade and natural—and this is really where we anchor our core expertise, it's risk protection.”
Littaua reported that InLife registered strong growth in gross written premiums (GWP) and new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) in the first three-months of the year, totaling P3.5 billion, and P422.2 million, respectively.
According to Littaua, InLife’s gross premiums in the first-quarter also increased 53 percent year-on-year, higher than the life insurance industry's 37 percent growth.
He also said that NBAPE grew by 42 percent even as the industry saw a dip of three-percent.
“We are in business not just to generate premiums, but more importantly, to make a difference in the lives of our fellow Filipinos amidst this COVID-19 pandemic,” Littaua said.
“Even with the COVID, for example, we continue to pay. There were claims arising out of COVID, we don't say no because it's COVID and so on. We continue doing that. That's precisely why people have life insurance,” he added.
InLife has the financial financial strength to meet all obligations and preposition policyholders, he pointed out.
To help spread the benefits of insurance to more Filipinos, Littaua said InLife now plans to be the industry’s only complete provider of risk protection services: life insurance, health coverage, group insurance, and non-life insurance.
Likewise, Littaua said that InLife will further strengthen its women’s advocacy program Sheroes, and focus on the millennials and GenZ market.
“As we mark our 111th anniversary this November, our purpose to provide ‘A Lifetime for Good’ to our fellow Filipinos remains the same,” Littaua said.