Oona Insurance to sell new products after SEC approval

OONA Insular Insurance Corp. (Oona Insurance) announced it will introduce new products such as new age lines, cyber risk and health insurance, as well as solutions that are emerging on the back of increasing adoption of internet, e-commerce and digital payments.

The firm said it would also continue to sell products that include motor, property, and group health insurance after it re-branded from Mapfre Insular Insurance Corp. (Mapfre Insurance).

These plans were announced after the firm said it secured approval of its amended articles of incorporation from the Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC).

The change from Mapfre Insurance to Oona Insurance came after Mapfre Internacional SA of Spain divested its business interests in Asia last October while The Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. (Inlife) increased its stake in its non-life insurance business to 40 percent. Warburg Pincus LLC set up Oona in Southeast Asia with a $350-million equity commitment.

Oona Insurance envisions to be “Southeast Asia’s most customerdriven and transformational insurer.” It aims “to continue the growth of existing distribution channels, agency force, banking and broking partnerships through digitally enabled tools and processes, while also expanding its digital business portfolio.”

The de-novo (new) digital general insurance platform is led by its founder and Group CEO Abhishek Bhatia, a statement from Inlife read.

Bhatia was quoted in the statement as saying that the SEC approval “helps us move forward as a new brand and marks the start of our transformational journey from a good company into one of the most formidable general insurers in the market.”

He added the firm is “all set to provide services to our customers, enabled by digital systems and processes on all fronts.”

For his part, Oona Insurance President and CEO Tirso C. Abad was quoted in the statement as saying that the approval by the regulator “marks a celebratory milestone for all of us and kickstarts our operations to break new ground and deliver on our promise for all our Filipino customers.”

Inlife Executive Chairman Nina D. Aguas was quoted in the statement as saying that the firm “will provide stronger and better general insurance products delivered through current and future distribution channels using technology to scale up.”