Malayan Insurance, IFC tie up

Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. (MICO) has partnered with the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC) to increase women’s access to risk mitigation and financial protection mechanisms.

MICO president Yvonne Yuchengco said the goal of the tie up with IFC is to position the leading non-life insurer as the preferred non-life insurer for women by 2022.

“A woman is more conscious of the needs of the family. They are more aware of the risks, and look for ways to mitigate the impact of those risks. We feel that women are a huge and underserved market that can be empowered through insurance products specific to their needs,” Yuchengco said.

IFC sees the high growth potential for women’s insurance and estimates this sector of the industry to grow up to $1.7 trillion by 2030 globally, with over half of the growth coming from emerging markets such as the Philippines.

“At IFC, we are focused on creating markets that are competitive, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. We provide solutions to enhance the status of the populations we serve through our intermediaries, and that includes women,” IFC country manager for the Philippines Yuan Xu said.

Nearly half of the estimated country’s 106 million population are women, with an average life span of 76 years, seven times more than men.

At the MOA signing, (from left) IFC Gender Secretariat Women’s Insurance lead Esther Dassanou, IFC country manager to the Philippines Yuan Xu, Yuchengco Group of Companies chairperson Helen Dee, and MICO president Yvonne Yuchengco cement the...