BPI Family Savings Bank unveils unique savings product

BPI Family Savings Bank has introduced a new savings product that offers for free a life insurance policy.

The plus factor is not the savings account which offer a mere 0.75 percent interest rate per annum.

The key feature is that the bank client will have an insurance coverage equivalent to five times the deposit. For example, for a minimum deposit of P5,000, the bank client will get a P25,000 cover.

BPI Family Savings Bank president Alfonso L. Salcedo Jr. said that it is attractive to potential bank clients 40 years and older since it does not require a medical check-up.

Most potential life insurance policyholder dislike taking a medical check-up either for fear of being disqualified, the policy may be downgraded, or simply dislikes the discomforts or inconvenience.

The issuer of the life insurance is Ayala Life Assurance Corp., a member of the Ayala Group of companies. Ayala Life was ranked among the top 10 life insurers in the country.

Salcedo explained that the arrangement does not conflict with the cross-selling regulations or BancAssurance of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

BancAssurance is basically the sale of life insurance policies within a bank’s premises, or directly by the bank personnel or an affiliate. However, the BSP ruled that for an insurer must own at least five-percent equity of a commercial bank before they are allowed to sell its policies within the premises.

In the case of Get Started, BPI Family Savings Bank is the buyer of a group insurance policy not an individual life policy. The insurance policies are then thrown in as part of the savings deposit value-added features.

Group insurance is usually availed of by a company for its employees. In the case of Get Started, BPI Family Savings Bank is the buyer of the group policy but it "gives it away" for free to Get Started enrolees. Salcedo said that the bank is optimistic that it could raise an additional P750 million to P1 billion to its deposit base this year. – Ted Torres