Igloo, a regional insurtech company, is building on its success in the Philippines with critical partnerships across various industries, fresh off a successful US$19 million Series B funding.
What is Igloo?
Igloo is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore with a mission of making insurance accessible for all. It leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Igloo has partnered with over 50 well-known brand names across the markets in various verticals, including insurance, telecommunications, e-commerce, hospitality, health tech and financial services.
The Philippines market offers solid potential for Igloo, with a tech-savvy population and a low insurance penetration rate. According to the Insurance Commission (IC), only 3% of the country’s adult population is insured.
Meanwhile, the Philippine insurance industry has experienced strong growth, with total gross written premiums rising 64.3% from Php 169.6 billion in the third quarter of 2016 to Php 278.7 billion in the same quarter of 2021.
Igloo Philippines proceeds through four key goals: strong Philippine growth, universal insurance, consumer empowerment, and capitalizing on SEA and Philippine opportunities.
- Strong Philippine Growth
Igloo Philippines has facilitated over 60 million protection plans in the last year, resulting in a 20-fold increase in gross written premiums. The insurtech firm has also strengthened its relationship with leading e-wallet provider GCash, and now offers a range of microinsurance protection plans. Its most recent partnership with Etiqa and Shopee makes affordable Cracked Screen Protection and Electronics Protection Plans available to the Shopee Philippines platform’s over 73 million monthly visitors.
According to Mario Berta, Country Managing Director of Igloo Philippines, insurance providers in the Philippines are increasingly looking to digitalize their internal processes and distribution channels. Igloo Philippines, he explained, provides insurers with a plug-and-play solution for distributing insurance products through big tech platforms.
2nd row from left to right: GCash VP and Head of Crypto and Insurtech Neil Trinidad, Digital PilipinasConvenor & GeiserMaclang Co-founder Amor Maclang
- Insurance for all
Igloo’s expansion in the Philippines means it can now provide protection plans to a wider range of people, including traditionally underserved groups like gig economy workers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In January, Igloo extended its partnership with food delivery platform FoodPanda to the Philippines, allowing FoodPanda riders in the country to reduce risks and manage accidental losses while on the road.
More recently, its partnership with UBX’s SeekCap has provided access to over 50,000 MSMEs with affordable fire coverage and expanded personal accident coverage for family members.
The Philippines is a story of enormous potential for Neil Trinidad, Vice President of GCash and Head of Insurtech and Crypto. However, one of the most pressing problems they face is the financial inclusion gap, with 63% of Filipinos lacking access to banking services.
- Giving power back to consumers
These technological advancements improve customer experience, overall coverage, and cost savings in the insurance industry. By simplifying the entire insurance journey – from discovery and purchasing to policy and claims management – insurtech makes insurance accessible to the masses and returns power to consumers.
The goal of Igloo Philippines is to bring the most competitive product and new products to market, as well as to ensure 102 million Filipinos in 7,300 islands, depending on the type. Because of its high mobile connection and internet usage, Etiqa Philippines President Rico Bautista believes insurtech presents a huge opportunity for the Philippines.
He even went on to mention that one of the things that sets the Igloo and Etiqa partnership apart is their composite license, which allows them to sell both life and non-life products.
- Capitalize on SEA, and Philippine opportunities
Berta, who has managed and coached commercial teams across APAC and has an illustrious career in multiple sectors such as IT, eCommerce, fintech, and telecommunications, intends to maintain Igloo’s position as the leading insurtech player in the Philippines and the region.
Mario Berta of Igloo Philippines, also stated that the company will continue to invest in strengthening its full-stack capabilities and improving its dynamic risk assessment and AI-powered claims assessment tools.
Product development and distribution will be focused on the underinsured low to mid-income population segments in Southeast Asia, in line with their vision of ‘Insurance for All.’ Igloo’s strong business potential is found in Southeast Asia’s rapidly growing digital economy, which is expected to reach US$300 billion by 2025.
With the goal of making insurance more accessible to everyone, the Philippines is in for a treat!
Igloo’s insurance solutions help businesses reduce operational risk, generate new revenue streams, and improve and optimize existing products and services.
For more information about Igloo, please visit https://www.iglooinsure.com/ .
