Cebuana Lhuillier transforms insurance arm into brokerage, eyes 25M Filipinos insured

Non-bank financial service firm Cebuana Lhuillier has transformed its micro-insurance solutions arm into an insurance brokerage company in a bid to increase access and coverage of insurance products among Filipinos.

In the “Move with the Future” event in Makati City on Thursday, Cebuana Lhuillier announced its 20-year-old Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions is now launched as Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Brokers Inc. (CLIB).

“Today marks a new and exciting chapter in the history of Cebuana Lhuillier as we continue to champion financial inclusion —no longer just an agent, but a broker —providing Filipinos, regardless of their socioeconomic class, access to insurance products that fit their needs, financial capabilities and at the comforts of their own home,” Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

With the launch of its new insurance brokerage arm, the company is targeting to insure at least 25 million Filipinos in the next three to five years, Lhuillier told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

“Our target is 25 million people insured... so the goal is to create more products and services for the entire slew of the market segments lower, medium and high,” he said.

Through CLIB, Cebuana Lhuillier is eyeing to offer personal, health, property, group, loan, and business and liability insurance products.

As a micro-solutions firm, Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions’ offerings are limited due to directives by the Insurance Commission to collaborate with only seven non-life and one life insurance providers.

“As a brokerage now, it’s infinite. With infinite number of partners whether local or international and infinite number of products we can offer as well,” Jonathan Batagan, Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions first vice president, told reporters in an interview.

CLIB aims to bring insurance providers as well as buyers through different touch points such as eCebuana mobile app and ProtectNow —a digital one-stop insurance shop which allows clients to compare the lowest prices of insurance offerings and monitor their insurance policies and claims in real-time.

CLIB will also offer products in more than 2,500 Cebuana Lhuillier branches nationwide as well as through 6,500 domestic partner outlets. —LDF, GMA News