Philippines: Telemarketing draws several insurance players
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jul 2018
Philippines Alternative Distribution
There are at present 13 insurance companies and one insurance broker engaged in selling insurance products through telemarketing, according to the Insurance Commission (IC).
Insurance commissioner Dennis Funa was commenting on the growth of this distribution channel since the issuance of guidelines on the telemarketing of insurance products in 2016.
“Telemarketing does not only involve the utilisation of technology in the development of alternative platforms in offering insurance products to the public; more important, it is a distribution innovation, which can highly contribute to bring about an increase on market penetration and expansion of public awareness of existing insurance products,” he said.
A telemarketer can promote the insurance product of a particular insurance company, as well as conclude insurance contracts, under a telemarketing platform, reports Business Mirror. Insurers are free to develop their own script to be used in their telemarketing activities, under the IC regulation on telemarketing.
“The authority of a telemarketer to conclude an insurance product depends on whether or not he or she is a licensed insurance agent. In other words, an individual who is not a licensed agent is only allowed to conduct preliminary introduction and presentation of insurance products. On the other hand, a telemarketer who is a licensed agent may solicit or sell insurance products,” Mr Funa said.
To ensure that clients are adequately protected, insurance companies and insurance brokers are required to have a mechanism in place to address customer complaints and grievances.
The IC will develop a reporting framework for telemarketing activities of insurance companies, to aid the regulator in analysing the level of growth of insurance telemarketing in the country, said Mr Funa. A