Singapore Life Philippines (Singlife), a mobile-first life insurance company, and GCash, a mobile wallet firm, have launched Cash for Dengue Costs, their first insurance product.

Cash for Dengue Costs offers three plans that will cover medical costs due to mild to severe cases of dengue. Monthly premiums are P30, P55, and P70. As an introductory offer, a free COVID-19 rider will be added to help protect customers from the ongoing pandemic. 

Customers can pay, view, manage, and file claims on their Singlife policies within the GCash application. This includes options to automatically debit payments and extend the coverage to family. The application will also be sending reminders for nearing payment dates.

The Department of Health (DoH) recently reported that dengue cases fell by 76% in mid-August compared to 2019, when the agency declared a national dengue epidemic in the wake of the 146,062 cases recorded recorded from January to July 20, 2019. While numbers are low, the ongoing rainy season could increase the likelihood of cases. 

To apply, one must first fully verify their GCash account. The process should take less than five minutes; the Cash for Dengue Costs policy will be issued to them as soon as the application is completed.

“This partnership comes at a crucial time when health and financial security are a priority. Leveraging Singlife’s technology and offerings, we have an opportunity to provide more Filipinos with meaningful life insurance products that can effectively protect them and secure their financial well-being,” said Martha Sazon, president and chief executive officer of GCash, in a written press statement. 

According to the Insurance Commission, the Philippine insurance industry has been experiencing growth for the past few years.

However, price remains a barrier to many Filipinos. Singlife says that some customers are intimidated by high premiums that need five to twenty years’ worth of payments to be fully optimized. Some policies also do not survive until the end of the payment period. Such stories are then shared among friends and family, negatively affecting the decisions of potential customers.

“Our vision for this partnership is to make insurance accessible for as many Filipino as possible. We believe that we can achieve this by continuously offering products that are easy to buy, easy to manage, easy to adjust, and most especially, easy to claim,” said Kame Amado Gomez, head of digital networks at Singlife, during a virtual press launch on September 4.

Cash for Dengue Costs will first be made available to a limited group of GCash users this September. “We’re going to… test the experience, gather feedback from customers, and adjust as necessary before we actually open it up to the full GCash user base later this year to the [GCash] Insurance Marketplace,” said Ms. Gomez.

The GCash Insurance Marketplace, an online marketplace for life insurance products, was announced in July. Singlife is working on its next line of products focused on health and income protection, to be launched later this year. — Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

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