Pru Life UK, Robinsons Bank renew bancassurance partnership targeting “rich” clients

MANILA, Philippines–Pru Life UK and Robinsons Bank have renewed their venture, called bancassurance, by another three years or until 2024 as insurance sales targeted at “rich clientele” which had been benefiting from the partnership.

In a signing ceremony on Thursday (Feb. 11) Pru Life UK extended its distribution partnership agreement with Robinsons Bank which started in 2018, under which the life insurer sold its products in 155 branches of the Gokongwei-led lender.

“Through its bancassurance venture IPONsurance, Robinsons Bank is able to leverage its extensive network to offer its customers Pru Life UK’s life insurance products that will provide Filipinos with better and more affordable choices toward a financially secure future,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

Pru Life UK president and chief executive Antonio De Rosas told a press briefing that the partnership had been “very profitable” during its first three years—“that’s why we’ve extended it.”

Robinsons Bank president and chief executive Elfren Antonio Sarte said that despite the movement restrictions due to prolonged COVID-19 quarantine, the bank managed to keep its branches open not only to serve customers but also for agents of its insurance products.

Pru Life UK vice president for bancassurance and business development Ramon Garcia said the insurer was among the first ones to suspend face-to-face sales at the height of the lockdown in 2020, which led to online selling through digital platforms, including to Robinsons Bank clients.

Garcia said Robinsons Bank regularly endorsed clients to Pru Life UK’s sales team, especially those from the bank’s “rich clientele base.”

“I think they have half-a-million [rich clients] in terms of count. So that’s a rich source of potential for us to offer our life insurance products,” Garcia said.

“Demand for life insurance products has been rising in the Philippines amid the health concerns of the pandemic and buoyed by growing awareness of the importance of protection, on the back of an expanding middle class and a low insurance penetration rate,” the two firms said.

The latest Insurance Commission (IC) data showed that the life insurance sector’s total premiums inched up 0.95 percent year-on-year to P173.69 billion as of end-September 2020, as sales of variable life products rose 2.48 percent even as traditional life as well as new business annual premium equivalent went down by 3.01 percent and 19.52 percent.

TSB