Since the COVID-19 pandemic, BDO Life Assurance Company Inc. (BDO Life) observed a growing appreciation for the value of life insurance among Filipinos.

In a market study conducted by the bancassurance firm, 79 percent of respondents agreed that life insurance is now more important to them than ever, a finding that is supported by BDO Life’s increasing sales of life insurance protection products over this period.

Protection is BDO Life’s main advocacy in promoting life insurance awareness. As a result, BDO Life’s traditional insurance plans—those that offer guaranteed protection benefits—comprised 75 percent of BDO Life’s total premiums in 2023, a 15 percent jump from 2022.

Renato Vergel De Dios, BDO Life President and CEO, attributed this to the pandemic’s severe threat to mortality, thereby prompting breadwinners to seek more reliable financial protection solutions for their loved ones. Amid volatile capital markets for most of 2023, insurance buyers have expressed a preference for protection products that provide guaranteed features.

“As fund values of variable life insurance rise and fall with the economic tide, traditional life insurance has proven to be a safe haven over time. Slowly but surely, Filipinos are realizing the importance of having a safety net, a Plan B in the form of life insurance protection that serves as a solid foundation on which their financial planning model rests. A solid protection foundation ensures their loved ones’ security amid life’s inevitable risks,” the insurance industry veteran noted.

Business of bancassurance

Vergel De Dios underscored BDO Life's competitive advantage as BDO Unibank's (BDO) bancassurance arm. “We benefit from BDO's extensive branch reach—the largest in the country—to offer a customizable Plan B that will meet the budget and unique needs of Filipinos,” he said.

Bancassurance refers to selling life insurance products through the bank's branches and other retail channels. This sales model benefits customers by giving them a one-stop shop that caters to their banking and insurance needs.

“We have always prided ourselves as a bank that finds ways for our clients. Offering life insurance products at our branches completes our range of products as a financial institution,” said Nestor V. Tan, President & CEO of BDO. “Just as the bank safeguards one’s current savings, life insurance serves to protect one’s future savings intended to be funded by future income.”

BDO Life relies on existing bank customer relationships in promoting life insurance. As clients are referred by their bank partners, BDO Life Financial Advisors work with these clients to understand their needs and goals before recommending the appropriate insurance products.

BDO Life recognizes that life insurance is a product that many Filipinos underappreciate primarily due to a lack of understanding of its crucial role in one’s overall financial portfolio. With this in mind, BDO Life developed a concept that anchors all of its ad campaigns.

The concept is simple and relatable: Most everyone lives to fulfill a Plan A that envisions a desired lifestyle, dreams, and aspirations. Plan A will be funded by current and future earnings and channeled into savings and investments. It also has a target completion date. With its full range of financial products and services, BDO enables individuals to achieve their Plan A. Because things may not go as planned—in the event of unexpected circumstances like critical illness or untimely death—BDO Life offers clients life insurance or Plan B, which will provide the additional funding to help complete Plan A.

“When premature death strikes and disrupts Plan A, Plan B springs to action to inject the needed cash into Plan A that helps empower our loved ones to move on. Life insurance is your Plan B. It serves as the safety net that will insulate your family from the expected financial strain once a family’s principal income earner passes. Plan B helps the surviving family members avoid the burden of immediate financial worries. In those crucial moments, BDO Life's Plan B helps the family maintain their financial dignity intact,” said Vergel De Dios.