Insurance for the rural folk

Country Bankers Insurance Group president Desiderio Villareal Jr. is seldom found in his office. The night before the interview, he had just arrived from a three-day business trip to Cebu, Ormoc and Tacloban.

Four months ago, he was in Basilan. "That was at the height of the hostage situation. PNP (Philippine National Police) director general Leandro Mendoza, whom I met earlier in Zamboanga, was surprised to see that I was also in Basilan," he said.

For Villareal, the third generation president of Country Bankers, traveling all over the country keeps him grounded. "I go out to meet our clients and our people, both the employees and the agents," he said. "I listen to what they want and we try to come up with products that meet their needs."

Country Bankers was started over 40 years ago to provide rural folk with insurance coverage. Through the years, it has slowly followed many of its original clients to the urban areas.

"We are still focused on the rural areas, but we have a lot of clients in the urban areas. It’s now a balanced mix," Villareal said.

Today, the group is made up of two companies: Country Bankers Insurance, which is engaged in non-life insurance, and Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp., which is engaged in life insurance.

Unconventional

"We are a non-conventional company that works out of the box," Villareal said . "Everyone has access to everyone else. It’s like a family." For example, agents, who sell only Country Bankers products, are given some financial help to pay the office rent.

Although Country Bankers offers a whole range of insurance coverage, motor vehicle insurance is its best-selling non-life insurance product. This year, Villareal wants the company to push more aggressively non-motor products like fire bonds.

To better meet the needs of its clients, Country Bankers has put in place a new computerized system to process claims more quickly. "We’re putting up a customer service center so our customers, especially the ones in the provinces, can reach us after office hours and during weekends and holidays."

Country Bankers was the first to offer the creditors group life insurance, which was specially developed for rural folk borrowers who don’t have transfer certificate titles that can be used as collateral. Consequently, these people have difficulty borrowing from banks.

The CGL, which works like a life insurance policy, is currently accepted by some banks as collateral. If the borrower dies before the loan has been fully paid, Country Bankers will pay the balance of the bank.

Such market segmentation has help Country Bankers stay alive in an industry where three companies, all subsidiaries or affiliates of foreign companies, account for more than 75% of total premiums paid.

"We know what the Filipino customer needs in terms of insurance," Villareal said as he discussed the advantages of Country Bankers, which is 100% owned by Filipino shareholders

"The entry of foreign insurance companies keeps us on our toes. To stay in business, we have to stay focused on the needs and wants of our customers," he said.