BizTalks Presents: Art Panganiban of Gotuaco, Del Rosario Insurance Brokers, Inc

Please tell us your story.

Established in (year) by Lawrence J. Gotuaco and Albert F. Del Rosario, Gotuaco, Del Rosario Insurance Brokers, Inc. is a leading professional insurance broking and consulting agency for life and general insurance for about 56 years now.

We are the largest independent Filipino insurance broker in the country, consistently ranks in the top ten in the industry, and is the leader in the practice of risk management consultancy.

Starting in 1998, the company became the sole Philippine partner of ASSUREX, the world’s largest private commercial insurance brokerage group. In 2000, it became a member of the International Benefits Network, an organization of recognized leaders in the area of employee benefits consultancy. With affiliations, we accessed international markets and gained extensive expertise.

What do you specialize in?

Our scope of professional services encompass, not only a complete portfolio of property, casualty and employee benefit solutions but also the application of relevant risk management principles. These include: risk identification, evaluation and measurement, risk reduction and loss prevention, and the appropriate financing of losses.

Our mission statement is to always be an industry leader and be the preferred choice of our clients because of the added value to the business relationships. We do this by –

• partnering with our clients in developing appropriate (risk management) solutions;
• identifying, developing and maximizing international partnerships and opportunities;
• educating our clients and the general public about risk, insurance and the value of partnering with an insurance broke; and
• looking after the best interests of our clients, partners, associates and shareholders.

We service major commercial, industrial, and service sectors like telecommunications, power, highway, infrastructure, health and medical industry, property development, and semiconductor companies. We focus on managing risks and control of losses at the same time advocate for optimal claims settlement.

What are the key challenges brought about by the pandemic?

The company undertook virtual interactions for the health and safety of clients and our staff. We are ready for the new normal by recommitting to our continuing quest to provide the best service.

What measures are in place?

It is a blessing that by design, the core elements of our organizational agility are adaptability to change, response speed and decision stability. We have undertaken digitization to move at pace with the market and to match manpower with results.

Can you share your outlook on the insurance landscape?

In the 2020 Industry Performance Report of the Insurance Commission, the net income of the insurance sector declined by 8.6% from Php45.12 in 2019 to Php41.24 billion in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19.

Both life and mutual benefits association sectors saw significant drops in net income year-on-year – former contracted by 16.41% to P30.2 billion in 2020 from P36.13 billion in 2019, while the latter declined by 3.42% to P5.39 billion from P5.59 billion..
Regardless and due to the pandemic, Filipinos increasingly recognize the risks from a lack of security in cases of death, unforeseen accidents, and hospitalization costs from illnesses. In a recent survey among insured,, more than 30% said that life and hospitalization insurance were their most preferred insurance products. Notably, Filipinos with pre-need insurance plans took out life insurance plans of almost one million in 2019. The number of insured individuals increased 18.8% from 32.7 million in 2017.

The non-life segment saw considerable growth in 2020 with net income increasing to P5.64 billion, a 65.81% jump from P3.4 billion in 2019. In my view, this was due to a combination of technical corrections imposed by the global insurance/reinsurance market and the robust activities in the property and infrastructure industry. We are looking at a slightly better 2021 since lockdowns have generally eased and infrastructure projects have started to pick up.

In the near future, how will GRA differentiate itself from other insurance brokers?

We are tirelessly learning and working to be a better organization. We implement key strategies:

• Customer service – going beyond meeting client’s needs;
• Communication – showing clients that we understand what they need;
• Expertise – providing suitable solutions; and
• Resolution – settling claims fast and best rates.