Life insurance made for single moms, by single moms
Insurance is rarely a priority for most Filipino families—more so for single mothers whose attention is often pulled in many directions at once: work, child care and running a household. Far removed from day-to-day realities, insurance is easy to put off.
This is especially true in the Philippines, where insurance penetration continues to lag behind its regional peers, reflecting long-standing barriers around affordability, awareness and access.
Enter Allianz PNB Life, a major player in the local life insurance industry, which has taken a different approach to insurance penetration—paring policies down to the essentials and lowering costs to reach a market long overlooked: single mothers.
In November last year, Allianz PNB Life launched three insurance products for single mothers under the banner “MaPanatag,” citing the need to support a community drawn from an estimated 15 million single parents in the Philippines, 95 percent of whom are women.
The three core benefits include a renewable life and health protection plan starting at P970 per month, a curated wellness benefit and an opportunity to join Allianz’s distribution team for additional income.
“Made for single moms, by single moms,” Allianz PNB Life notes—a philosophy that hits close to home for CEO Joseph Gross, who was raised by a single mother himself.
“There’s a vast majority of single moms [who] cannot insure because of affordability. But, there’s a big segment of single moms who have enough money,” Gross says in a media conference.
“Why haven’t they bought it? Number one, they don’t know. Number two, nobody has approached them. Number three, it’s quite complex. And number four, it’s quite expensive,” he adds.
Simplicity, affordability
Closing in on insurance policies can feel intimidating, Gross notes. “It’s complex—the underwriting is complex, the terms are complex, the communication is complex.”
So, when asked about how Allianz PNB Life can contribute to the growth of insurance penetration in the country, Gross says the key lies in the ease of doing business and affordability. And this now comes in the form of insurance for single mothers, at least for Allianz PNB Life.
”That means decomplexing the insurance products, improving digitalization and advice that you provide to the client, which they can understand. Combined with that, it’s also [giving] a price point which people can carve out,” he says.
MaPanatag was stripped to its basics, Gross says, bringing the price down to an affordable level and making the signup process fully digital and automated.
”This is what I mean in terms of being able to penetrate the customers with simple, relevant solutions that are also affordable,” Gross says.
‘Mombassadors’
Insurance often speaks in numbers—premiums, coverage, penetration rates.
The impact of MaPanatag, however, is best seen in the women it was built for: mothers whose lives have been shaped by loss, sacrifice and resilience.
When it was launched last year, MaPanatag brought together the single mothers of Allianz PNB, known as “Mombassadors.”
Among them is Apple Isidro, who once found herself buried in betrayal and debt. Long commutes between work and home became a daily reality as she struggled to make ends meet, eventually taking a toll on her mental health.
Heidi Larosa, a single mother of four, leaned on her faith as she navigated motherhood, especially after her eldest son was involved in a serious accident.
Janella Reyes had left college at 19 after getting pregnant, but returned soon after to finish her studies. She eventually graduated cum laude and passed the CPA board examinations, all while raising two children.
Angel Galut also gave birth while still in college. Her son was born prematurely, a battle she faced while attending classes from the hospital.
Rosemary Fernandez, meanwhile, had to cope with the sudden loss of her husband at just 35.
Then there is Aira Carmelo, who underwent ovarian surgery, only to unexpectedly find herself pregnant soon after—reshaping her plans and priorities overnight.
For Allianz PNB Life, these are the stories the product was designed for—where insurance is not just coverage, but peace of mind for every single mother.
