INSURTECH FIRM Igloo is set to spend a portion of proceeds from its latest funding round on making solutions more accessible to help increase insurance penetration in the Philippines.
“Following a successful $27-million Series B+ funding, regional insurtech Igloo is gearing up to further accelerate financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. Seeing tremendous growth in the Philippines, Igloo will be allocating a portion of the funding to deploy more insurance solutions and increase coverage across the country,” Igloo said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company said its investors are interested in Igloo’s initiatives in the Philippines. These include its provision of credit line insurance to entrepreneurs in partnership with Philinsure and Foodpanda’s PandaCare insurance package for workers, which it pioneered.
“With an insurance penetration rate of less than 2%, we entered the Philippines by listening to the unmet needs of Filipinos to ensure we are filling the gaps that other players have yet to address,” Mario Berta, Igloo Philippine country manager, was quoted as saying.
“With the success of the B+ funding, this ensures that we can strengthen our current tech capabilities and allow us to introduce new solutions that would reach more underserved sectors in the Philippines.”
The company said it is in talks with insurers and the government to bring to the Philippines the blockchain-based Weather Index Insurance, with the aim of providing immediate financial assistance to farmers affected by weather disturbances.
“With an average of 20 typhoons traversing the Philippines every year, Weather Index Insurance will not only fast-track farming communities’ recovery but also guarantee the sustainability of their livelihood,” Igloo said.
It also plans to introduce Ignite, an AI-powered digital solution that automates paperwork and procedures to boost productivity among insurance agents.
“While Igloo helps insurance partners onboard their products into digital platforms, the firm is also finding more solutions to support direct sales intermediaries. As the industry transforms itself, there is also a need to help agents and brokers prepare for the increasing demand for insurance,” it said.
“The Philippines being one of the most digitally connected places in the Southeast Asia region is an advantage for insurtech companies because technology is heavily involved in the lifestyle of Filipinos. We will leverage technology to reach out to sectors within the Philippines since every Filipino deserves to have access to insurance, no matter where they live,” Mr. Berta said.
Igloo said it has facilitated over 100 million purchases of microinsurance through local partners in the four years it has been in the Philippine market. — AMCS
