Oona Insurance Philippines expects to achieve profitability next year
OONA Insurance Corp. (Oona Insurance Philippines) expects to be profitable by next year as it sees its net earnings growing faster than its premium income on the back of its digital partnerships.
“I think it would suffice to say that if we grew anywhere below 30-35% (in premium income), that would be disappointing. So, this year, I think we’re beginning to see the fruits of our labor. All the partnerships we talked about, we’ve worked on for the last 18 months, and now, they’re beginning to bear fruit,” Oona Insurance Group Chief Executive Officer Abhishek Bhatia said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
“By the way, profitability will grow faster than [premium income],” he added.
Oona Insurance Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Ninoy F. Rollan added that the company is aiming to grow its revenues to P2.5 billion this year.
The nonlife insurer booked a net loss of P205.94 million last year, narrowing from the P236.39-million loss it posted in 2023, latest Insurance Commission data showed. Meanwhile, premiums earned grew by 39.32% to P939.53 million in 2024 from P674.35 million in 2023.
Mr. Bhatia said their current partnerships utilize digital capabilities. “We’re maybe at 15 partners, at least, and these are all digitally and quasi-digital in nature.”
He added that the company sees the Philippines’ low insurance penetration rate as a growth opportunity.
“The penetration of insurance is still less than 2% because while people are spending a lot of time online, financial literacy is still low. The need to buy insurance by proactively going onto someone’s website is still not felt by the consumers. So, you need distribution partners who are able to approach them,” he said.
Oona Insurance Philippines is also planning to launch a health or medical product later this year as well as more offerings through its partnership with electronic wallet GCash.
“We think that on the retail side, whether it’s device protection, home protection, car protection, motorbikes, that’s going to go and expand by at least 10% or so year on year going forward. Then there are other opportunities in health,” Mr. Bhatia added. — A.M.C. Sy
