From cracked screen to COVID-19 coverage: PayMaya ventures into insurance

Mobile wallet PayMaya is expanding into insurance products, announcing a partnership with Bolttech, one of the world’s largest digital insurance platforms.

In a statement, PayMaya said the tie-up would allow it to offer Filipinos easy access to microinsurance and other ancillary products via its own app.

Singapore-based Bolttech is a leading insurance marketplace with over 7.7 million customers across 26 areas around the world. The company has sold insurance premiums in excess of $5 billion, it said on its website.

“Our initial offers for health insurance and device protection are very relevant now, especially among our younger customers seeking better ways to protect what matters most to them,” said Shailesh Baidwan, president of PayMaya.

“Our goal is to bring more insurance and other protection products closer to the hands of every Filipino,” he added.

PayMaya said its first product, dubbed Personal Protect, covered dengue, COVID-19 and permanent total disability via Bolttech and underwriter Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corp.

Users can also insure their mobile devices to cover cracked screens and water damage.

The partnership aims to address low insurance penetration in the Philippines, which stood at 2.3 percent as of March this year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in its 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey less than a fourth of Filipino adults had any form of insurance coverage.

“PayMaya has been working with Bolttech to develop and introduce more flexible ‘sachet-sized’ insurance [products] better suited to the country’s predominantly young and underserved market,” the company said.

“With flexible and affordable services … conveniently available within a few taps on the e-wallet, PayMaya and Bolttech are making it easier for Filipinos to access insurance products,” it added.

PayMaya is the country’s only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem. This means it serves consumers for their transactions and also payments processing for a host of businesses. It is backed by industry giants PLDT Inc., China’s Tencent Holdings, KKR and the International Finance Corp. INQ