Igloo, a regional insurtech business, recently completed a successful Series B fundraising round of US$19 million, and it is now building on its success in the Philippines by forming important alliances across a variety of industries.
Igloo sees significant opportunity in the Philippines market because to the country’s relatively low rate of insurance penetration and population’s familiarity with technology. Only three percent of the adult population in the country is protected by any kind of insurance policy, according to the data provided by the Insurance Commission (IC).
The domestic insurance market, on the other hand, has been seeing substantial expansion, with total gross written premiums increasing by 64.3 percent from Php 169.6 billion in the third quarter of 2016 to Php 278.7 billion in the same period in 2021.
Igloo has established relationships with insurance providers Etiqa, Malayan Insurance, PGA Sompo Insurance Corporation, and Mercantile Insurance, as well as over 12 commercial partners in the finance, logistics, lifestyle, and travel sectors, led by Country Managing Director Mario Berta.
Igloo Philippines has enabled over 60 million protection plans in the last year and boosted gross written premiums by 20 times. Its most recent collaboration with Etiqa and Shopee makes inexpensive Cracked Screen Protection and Electronics Protection Plans available to the Shopee Philippines platform’s over 73 million monthly visitors.
The insurtech firm has also solidified its successful cooperation with major e-wallet provider GCash, offering a suite of microinsurance protection plans – Online Shopping Protection, Gadget Insurance, and Pet Insurance – to GCash’s 60 million users.
“Insurance partners are increasingly interested in how to digitalize their internal processes and distribution channels,” stated Mario Berta, Country Managing Director, Igloo Philippines. “This is where Igloo comes into play. We provide insurers with a ready-to-use solution for distributing insurance products on the platforms of major tech players in the Philippines and the region.”
Igloo’s expansion in the Philippines also sees it providing security plans to a broader proportion of the population, including previously neglected segments such as gig economy workers and micro, small, and medium firms (MSMEs).
Igloo expanded its collaboration with food delivery platform FoodPanda to the Philippines in January, assisting FoodPanda riders in the country in reducing risks and making inadvertent losses more manageable while on the road.
More recently, its collaboration with UBX’s SeekCap provides access to over 50,000 MSMEs with affordable fire coverage and broader personal injury insurance for family members.
According to Neil Trinidad, Vice President of GCash and Head of Insurtech and Crypto, the company’s goal in collaboration with Igloo and Etiqa is to enable insurance for all. “The Philippines is a tale of enormous potential possibilities.” However, one of the most significant difficulties that we continue to face is the gap in financial inclusion. With only 63% of Filipinos lacking access to bank accounts.”
These technological advancements innovate the insurance industry by enhancing customer experience, overall coverage, and cost savings. Insurtech makes insurance accessible to the masses and gives the power back to the consumers by simplifying the entire insurance journey – from the discovery and buying experience, right up to policy and claims management.
“Our objective in the Philippines is to be able to empower our partners to sell digital products such as insurance,” Berta said. “Our goal is to bring the most competitive product into the market and new products into the market, and to ensure 102 million Filipinos in 7,300 islands depending on the type.”
Etiqa Philippines President Rico Bautista said insurtech offers a huge opportunity to the Philippines because of its high mobile connection and internet usage. He added that one of the things that make the Igloo and Etiqa partnership unique is the composite license that enables them to offer both life and non-life products.
“We offer a digital customer journey, and therefore, seamless. From the purchase of the insurance, to the claims. We are an insurance company that does what we do because our vision is to make our country a better place,” Bautista added.
With its new investment announcement, Igloo is poised to capitalize on its excellent momentum in the Philippines.
Berta, who has a distinguished background in IT, eCommerce, finance, and telecommunications and has managed and trained commercial teams across APAC, intends to further solidify Igloo’s position as the top insurtech company in the Philippines and the region.
“Igloo will continue to invest in strengthening its full-stack capabilities as well as inventing its dynamic risk assessment and AI-powered claims assessment tools.” Berta stated. “In keeping with our mission of ‘Insurance for All,’ our product development and distribution efforts will continue to target Southeast Asia’s underinsured low to mid-income demographic segments.”
Over 15 million Southeast Asian users have already benefited from Igloo’s insurance offerings. The tremendous business potential of Igloo is found in Southeast Asia’s burgeoning digital economy, which is estimated to reach US$300 billion by 2025. The growing prevalence of digital insurance creates new potential for digital players and insurance businesses worth more than US$10 billion in the region.
