Pru Life UK is actively seeking partnerships with banks and fintech companies in the Philippines to broaden its reach and extend social protection to more Filipinos.

Prudential plc CEO Anil Wadhwani emphasised the company’s interest in bancassurance and collaborations with non-traditional players like e-wallets to access underserved markets beyond its established agency model.

While Pru Life UK boasts a substantial agency force, it currently lacks bank partnerships, unlike several competitors who have leveraged bancassurance agreements.

“That is something that we are pursuing in the Philippines. I would love to have something with banks. I’m also ready to kind of explore non-bank partners,” Wadhwani said.

Current regulations in the Philippines restrict banks to single insurance partners and often require an insurance firm to be part of a financial conglomerate for in-bank sales, particularly for variable universal life (VUL) insurance.

Wadhwani suggested that regulators consider frameworks allowing banks to partner with multiple insurers to foster competition and improve outcomes for consumers.

Pru Life UK President and CEO Sanjay Chakrabarty highlighted the potential in the Philippines for embedding insurance solutions within various ecosystems, including lending institutions, where coverage against personal accidents, disability, and job loss would be beneficial.

“We see a lot of opportunities in this market apart from just banks. We intend to pursue those,” he said.

Across nine Southeast Asian markets, Prudential has a significant agency network and over 200 bank partners.

In the Philippines for instance, Pru Life UK achieved the top market position in the previous year with a 15 per cent share and GBP £9.8 billion in new business annual premium equivalent.

Featured image: Edited from Freepik.