Singapore Life looks to start PHL operations by 2020
SINGAPORE LIFE will be ready to operate in the Philippines next year and is looking to offer “fairly priced” services.
“Singapore Life has decided to expand its operations in South East Asia. The Philippines was selected as one of two priority countries, predominantly because of its high growth potential and internet penetration,” Singapore Life Philippines CEO Rien Hermans said in a statement on Thursday.
“All in all we are targeting to be ready by year-end to start launching our products to the market at the start of 2020,” Mr. Hermans added.
The CEO said they already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is currently applying for a life insurance license with the Insurance Commission.
The new player’s entry was confirmed by Insurance Commission (IC) Chief Dennis B. Funa, saying the company’s application will be processed soon.
“I already had talks with Rien Hermans of Singapore Life. I can only say that their application will be under process in the coming weeks, Mr. Funa said in a phone message late Wednesday night.
Mr. Hermans said the company will comply with the required P1 billion capital for life insurers but did not disclose the exact amount of its investment in the country.
“Of course we will comply with the required capital investment of P1 billion and additionally, we are ready to invest the needed funds to set up and run the business in its starting phase,” he said.
According to Mr. Hermans, using digital front-end systems, cloud-based systems and API platforms in their operations will mean lower administration costs and ensure fair pricing of the company’s services.
He added that Singapore Life has already partnered with Grab which will help it “stay mobile.”
“Grab is helping us to stay mobile and mobile banking became a dominant way to interact with banks. Apart from competitive pricing, the service delivery has been key to the success of these companies and it is time for the insurance industry to follow,” he said. — BML
