Singlife Philippines launches insurance covering funeral, end-of-life expenses

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'Protect from Funeral Costs allows you to prepare in advance and leave behind a final act of love, one that ensures your family can grieve without financial worry,' says Singlife Philippines' CEO Lester Cruz

MANILA, Philippines – Singlife Philippines launched a new insurance product that covers funeral costs and other end-of-life expenses.

The Protect from Funeral Costs policy provides a lump sum cash benefit of up to P500,000, with monthly premiums starting at P447 monthly over five to 10-year payment plans. The policy will also be valid until the holder is 120 years old.

According to Singlife Philippines’ chief executive officer Lester Cruz, the company releases 10% of the benefit upon receipt of the policyholders’ death certificate. The remaining balance is then released when the claim is approved.

The family of the deceased can then use the funds without being locked into a fixed package offered by funeral service providers.

“Protect from Funeral Costs allows you to prepare in advance and leave behind a final act of love, one that ensures your family can grieve without financial worry,” Cruz said in a separate statement.

Cruz told Rappler in an interview on Wednesday, June 4, that the company’s new product aims to make insurance more accessible to Filipinos. He added that they decided to roll out the Protect from Funeral Costs insurance now because some Filipino families are often forced to extend their loved ones’ wake to buy them time to raise money for the burial.

“It’s bad enough that they’re mourning, and they’re still having to contend with putting up the money to be able to finance the final rights,” he pointed out.

He also explained that purchasing insurance can be often seen as daunting as people aren’t always sure what type of insurance and the coverage amount that they need.

Latest data from the Insurance Commission (IC) shows that insurance penetration in the Philippines grew to 1.89% in the first quarter of the year. However, this remains far below the global average of 7%.

Cruz explained this is one of the key reasons why Singlife Philippines decided to integrate a built-in financial needs analysis into its platform. Through a series of questions, potential policyholders receive an estimate of costs for the funeral type, casket, memorial lots, and expected guests, among others.

Cruz considers features such as the financial needs analysis as a stepping stone to helping Filipinos in understanding their needs and how an insurance policy can address these.

“We want to make customers understand that the concept of insurance is not just predicated on addressing any particular claim because something bad happened to you. That is how we’re approaching the market, making people understand that nothing bad should ever happen to you for you to benefit out of insurance,” he explained.

Cruz said Singlife hopes to further implement this model of simplifying insurance in their other products to make it more accessible and less daunting to Filipinos.

While Cruz did not disclose a specific timeline for their insurance products in the pipeline, Singlife plans to roll out products that cover medical costs, education expenses, and investments.

“The good thing about the way our company operates is that we have the ability, not just to distribute. We have the ability to create solutions that would be fitting to a very particular need and addressing a very particular market,” he said.

“So if you’re talking about healthcare, education, and investment, nothing is stopping a company like us from putting up a protection product that helps address the concerns on rising educational costs with a hint of investment as well.”

According to data from the Insurance Commission, Singlife Philippines’ premium income stood at over P491.7 million as of end-2024. It posted a net loss of P399.9 million last year, but Cruz said the company booked “healthy double-digit growth” and hopes to sustain this momentum moving forward. – Rappler.com