The Philippine American Life Insurance Co. (Philamlife) on
Monday said it was mostly foreigners who took advantage of the growing
Philippine economy by directly investing in industries, while Filipinos
kept their money in low-yielding accounts.
Thus, the insurer is introducing new products to help Filipinos benefit
from the economic growth of 7.1 percent as measured by the gross
domestic product in the third quarter, the fastest growth in South East
Asia.
The company is promising returns of at least 8 percent in an insurance and investment plan.
Rex Mendoza, Philamlife president and chief executive officer, said
most Filipinos placed their hard-earned money in savings or time
deposits which earn 0.375 percent and 2.75 percent per year, and cannot
even catch up with the benign inflation rate at 3.1 percent.
Deposits are good for short-term needs, and cannot really secure the
depositor for life or earn enough for emergencies, Mendoza said in a
press briefing in Makati City. There is no wrong timing and it is never
too late to invest for the long-term even with the fluctuations in the
market because the economic trend is upward, the Philamlife official
noted.
While Hong Kong Stock Exchange prohibits
the premature release of figures, Mendoza said Philamlife has breached
the 26-percent average growth of the firms under parent company AIA
Group – listed on the Hong Kong bourse – and that Philamlife posted
“more than double digit” growth.
He said
Philamlife sales were boosted by partnerships with Bank of the
Philippine Islands under BPI-Philam Life Insurance Corp. and with M.
Lhuillier to sell their products.
Mendoza said
they are forming regional hubs of sales and support service teams as
part of the push toward the provinces, expecting increased turnover as
economic progress spreads across the region.
One
of the new products of Philamlife – Money Tree – is “a one-payment life
insurance and investment plan whose various funds have yielded returns
of 8 percent to 15 percent per annum.”
Mendoza
said Money Tree “can adjust to your risk-profile” with the choice of
“less volatile fixed-income fund, the high-risk high-reward fund or a
mix of both.” It also comes with guaranteed life insurance coverage of
at least 125 percent of initial payment.
Another
product, Family Secure, “is a high-value insurance plan that can be
converted into a retirement fund as the insured person gets older.” Both
products enable the insured person to grow with the economy, he said.
Mendoza noted their investment program caters to all income brackets
and includes one that requires an investment of only P700 to P800 and a
mutual fund that needs only P5,000 in which the investor can choose
whether or not to invest more and when. — VS, GMA News
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