The SM Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines, is leveraging its extensive network of shopping malls for insurance, with various general insurance products to be made available at its stores.
The company will initially market low-premium general insurance products such as compulsory third-party liability motor insurance, travel insurance, and medical insurance.
The company has partnered with domestic insurer Pioneer Insurance to underwrite the insurance policies for the mass-market program called “InsureME@SM”, which stands for “insurance made easy at The SM Store.”
The project is an idea from SM Investments Corp. vice chairwoman Teresita Sy-Coson, who noted the success of the concept in foreign markets. In the future, the platform will offer additional products, such as pet, motorcycle, or even wedding cancellation insurance policies.
Tracy Tan, general manager of BDO Insurance Brokers Inc. (part of the SM Group), thinks that the very low level of insurance penetration in the country is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Group.
“If we could make insurance more accessible, then it would create better awareness,” Tan told the press last week. “If we offered products that were simple enough to obtain over the counter, then it would increase people’s appreciation of what insurance is all about.”
By the end of this year, the SM Group will have 65 malls operating throughout the Philippines, with 22 in the National Capital Region and 33 in the rest of the main island of Luzon.
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