Eastwest Ageas expects hikes in premium in ’23
EASTWEST Banking Corp. partner Eastwest Ageas Life Insurance Corp. anticipates a 15-percent increase in gross written premium (GWP) and a 50-percent increase in the amount of the first year premium (AFYP) in 2023, according to its incoming president.
Sjoerd Smeets, the newly-appointed President and CEO of the insurer, cited the vital role of their parent firm in enhancing the company’s position through cutting-edge computing technology and other new services.
“The partnership with East West Bank (since 2015) has seen success in providing financial solutions to many Filipinos. We look forward to streamlining it further with a new IT system, new products, and Unit Linked Funds,” Smeets told the Business Mirror in an email interview.
He said Eastwest Bank has provided an advantage to Eastwest Ageas because the bank has provided them with a large pool of potential customers through its various offerings such as salary accounts, credit cards, and car and home loans
According to Eastwest Ageas’ market research, Smeets said agents sell more than half of all life insurance products.
“We entered this market segment in 2022 and intend to expand it over the next few years to become a significant part of our portfolio,” he said.
As a young company, Smeets said Eastwest Ageas has benefitted from the modern IT infrastructure fully supported in the cloud. He said going digital was one of the reasons why the company’s were not affected by Covid. All employees could work from home using their laptop computers, and our services remained operational, he recalled.
However, Smeets said face to face interaction is still important as a client expects insurers to interact with them differently. Moreover, he said this will also vary greatly depending on the company’s customers’ life stages, geographical locations, and financial literacy.
“As a result, we see digital as an enabler for providing better solutions to our customers,” he said.
With the launch of the agency channel, Eastwest Ageas introduced a new front-end to our agents, allowing for a simple, and quick) quotation and a discussion with our customers about their insurance needs.
“We will implement paperless processes and conduct business through in-person and virtual meetings,” Smeets said.
Smeets said Eastwest remains committed to the Philippine market as it offers huge potential with a population of 115 million. With an annual population growth rate of 1.6 percent, a very young population, and GDP growth of around 6 percent, he stressed the prospects for the future are bright.
Moreover, he said the company can leverage elements of the Ageas group’s strategy locally, focusing on health and environment, social and governance (ESG).
“Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our entire management team is a strong advocate of Customercentric thinking, and we will take all our employees on that journey to provide excellent service to our customers,” Smeets said.