The Insurance Commission should consider allowing online shopping platforms to sell insurance products, a policy paper released life insurer Pru Life UK stated.

Based on the policy paper called “InsurTech: Driving Broader Insurance Access” authored by law firm Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles, the full potential of online shopping platforms in the Philippines has up to now not yet been maximized.

Cynthia Del Castillo, Senior Partner and Head of the Capital Markets Practice at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles, said this is because online shopping platforms are not insurance-specific.

“As InsurTech evolves the way of doing the insurance business, insurers need to keep up,” Del Castillo was quoted as saying in a statement released by Pru Life UK.

Key recommendation of the paper is for the Insurance Commission to consider allowing online shopping platforms, including electronic wallets that are serving as e-commerce platforms, to act as an “intermediary” for the sale and distribution of insurance products.

According to Pro Life UK, online shopping platforms can be used to broaden Filipinos’ access to life and health protection products.

“Digitalization has accelerated almost every aspect of our lives. However, the insurance penetration in the Philippines as a percentage of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is less than 2 percent. This is amongst the lowest in Asia,” Eng Teng Wong, Pru Life UK president and CEO said.

“By harnessing the combined strengths of financial advisor workforce and the power of mobile and online apps and platforms, we can quickly broaden the reach and accessibility to many more affordable life and health insurance solutions, including investment-linked plans,” he added.

Wong said Pru Life UK’s purpose to help Filipinos get the most out of life.

“We are inspired to lead the discussions and concerted initiatives with many like-minded partners to leverage mobile and online apps and platforms to drive up financial/insurance awareness, literacy and inclusion to help many more Filipino families in the country,” he said.

Wong is also FinTech Alliance Philippines’ Insurtech Committee Chairman leading the organization’s role in engaging, building, and expanding a sustainable digital finance ecosystem.

FinTech Alliance Philippines, the country’s leading and largest digital trade organization supports Pru Life UK’s policy paper on how insurtech can bring innovation to the insurance sector and impact the regulatory practices of insurance markets.

#PRU Life UK

Allowing online shops to sell insurance urged

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