Banks are set to move away from serving only clients of their affiliated insurers, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is rolling out amended bancassurance guidelines that will allow third-party insurers to sell their products to banks’ customers.

“A draft circular amending the cross-selling guidelines is currently being finalized to consider the inputs we received from various stakeholders. It is targeted for issuance this 2025,” BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told reporters on the sidelines of a Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. (PLIA) event on Tuesday, July 30.

Romulo-Puyat, who oversees the central bank’s regional operations and advocacy sector, said that this upcoming rule will widen the financial institution’s access to a pool of customers.

“As I understand it, before only those who were part of the conglomerate could be involved with the bank. But now, it opens up to those from the outside,” Romulo-Puyat told reporters. “We want it to be open not just to conglomerates but also to external players. So it creates opportunities for others to participate.”

“Bancassurance brings insurance closer to more Filipinos by tapping into the wide range of banks especially in underserved areas because the trust banks have earned over time, they are in the proposition to introduce insurance in a way that feels familiar and reliable by offering it alongside savings, loans and other services, bancassurance helps customer stand, protect and grow their finances more seamlessly,” Romulo-Puyat said during her speech.

“What’s good about it is that banks already have their own regular clients. So it’s great—you can just bundle everything. You just add insurance and all the other things we need. It’s not just savings anymore; it now comes with insurance as well,” Romulo-Puyat said.

Romulo-Puyat confirmed that bank-insurer partnerships are allowable, “as long as there’s a contractual relationship between the bank and the insurance company.”

“If you open it up to more players, more people can be insured. Actually, we’re not focusing on financial inclusion anymore. We're focusing on financial health,” she stressed.

Bancassurance is a deal where an insurance firm sells its products through a partner bank, allowing it to reach more customers without expanding its own sales team.