E-commerce giant enters insurance industry

Singaporean tycoon and owner of e-commercia giant Shopee Forrest Li has officially cast his lot with the Philippine insurance business. The Philippines’ Insurance Commission has approved the license of SeaInsure General Insurance, owned by Li, as a non-life insurer.

But the commission has received a license application from SeaInsure to offer life insurance as well, IC Commissioner Dennis Funa told The Philippine Star.

The venture began with SeaInsure’s acquisition of two Philippine non-life insurance companies – AA Guaranty Assurance and Reliance Surety and Insurance. AA Guaranty Assurance was acquired in February 2021 and later rebranded as SeaInsure General Insurance, while Reliance Surety was acquired earlier this year in the hopes of converting it into a life insurance business.

SeaInsure has since introduced itself to the Philippine market as a digital insurance company, hoping to trailblaze at a time insurtech is gaining ground in the country. Former chair of the Philippine Insurance and Reinsurers Association Rebecca dela Cruz is the firm’s president, while Karen Perez of Shopee Philippines serves as its treasurer. The firm is under tech conglomerate Sea Ltd., Shopee’s holding company.

Funa has expressed high hopes for the insurance company. “[The] Filipino insuring public can be reasonably assured that SeaInsure Philippines … shall be strong, sustainable, and competitive – not only within the Southeast Asian region, but perhaps globally,” he told BusinessMirror.