The new normal has fueled greater interest in the purchase of insurance and investment products online, according to a study released by Manulife Philippines.
The study, “The Modern Filipino Family: Exploring family dynamics and digitalization in the new normal,” said the Filipinos’ positive experiences with online transactions have influenced excitement and optimism for digitalization, transcending into greater interest in purchasing insurance and investment products.
Most Filipinos recognize the convenience, sense of security and protection that buying insurance online offers, the report said.
In the past 12 months, Manulife said 25 percent of generation X and 33 percent of millennials bought insurance products online, while 41 percent of generation Z intend to purchase insurance products in the next 12 months.
Top insurance products purchased in the last 12 months were life insurance (28 percent), medical/health/accident insurance (28 percent) and investment-linked insurance (10 percent).
Manulife’s study, conducted in partnership with InSites Consulting via online self-completed questionnaires, surveyed 500 Filipinos, aged 18 to 55, in May 2022 across the country. This included insurance and non-insurance owners.
“Driving our efforts toward becoming the industry’s digital customer leader, Manulife will continue offering seamless and intuitive end-to-end digital experiences,” Melissa Henson, chief marketing officer of Manulife Philippines, said.
“We will also provide Filipinos with best-in-class protection plans and investment opportunities to help them achieve financial security and make their every day better,” she added.
Meanwhile, the healthcare benefits and claims paid out by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the first quarter rose by 22.43 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by the Insurance Commission (IC).
The industry paid healthcare benefits and claims amounting to P9.48 billion in January to March 2022, up from the P7.74 billion paid in the first quarter of 2021.
“Accordingly, said growth in healthcare benefits and claims paid resulted in a 15.9 percent increase in the industry’s total expenses including income tax in the first quarter of 2022,” Dennis Funa, insurance commissioner, said.
Thus, the HMO industry’s net income contracted by 44.61 percent to P863.99 million in the first quarter of 2022 from P1.56 billion in the same period in 2021, mainly due to the industry’s higher total healthcare benefits and claims paid.
Meanwhile, the HMO industry’s total assets slightly increased year-on-year by 4.6 percentto P69.62 billion from P66.56 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
The industry’s total invested assets, on the other hand, slightly contracted by 1.36 percent year-on-yearto P26.25 billion from P26.61 billion in the same period a year ago.
Total equity, liabilities and revenues also slightly grew in the first quarter of 2022 as compared with the first quarter of 2021, by 6.09 percent, 4.17 percent and 8.52 percent, respectively.
