One of the Philippines’ largest insurers has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand insurance among the “relatively untapped” female segment of the country.

As part of the partnership, Insular Life has introduced the “Empowering the Filipino Sheroes” program, which seeks to help women who want life protection but currently have no access to financial instruments and life insurance.

In a statement, Insular Life said the program will involve developing insurance products specifically designed for women, through specialised coverage, bundling of insurance products, awareness campaigns, and developing add-on services.

“[T]he economic or profitability component in the equation is not as crucial to us as the opportunity to expand our reach to the uninsured, unserved women out there, using technology to enable us to find innovative ways to create meaningful and long-term relationships with them,” said Insular Life CEO Nina Aguas.

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group. According to a report it published in 2015, the women segment represents an untapped US$1.7 trillion opportunity, most of which comes from emerging markets.

“Women are important to the continuous economic growth of the Philippines. At IFC, we are committed to finding innovative ways to expand women’s access to assets and ways to secure them,” said Yuan Xu, IFC country manager for the Philippines. “Through this partnership with Insular, we will develop insurance solutions that will address women’s financial protection and risk mitigation needs at different life stages.”


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