Only 2% of PHL businesses provide health coverage to employees, says Kwik.insure

Only around 2% of Philippine businesses, mostly large ones, offer healthcare coverage to their employees, according to multichannel insurance platform Kwik.insure.

“So many MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and Filipinos are trying to get health coverage,”  Kwik.insure Chief Executive Officer Hamilton Angluben said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. 

“They are challenged with the affordability of plans, rigidity of requirements, and the cash burden of upfront fees,” he added.

According to the Insurance Commission, there were only 20,248 enterprises that provided healthcare coverage to their employees as of 2021. There were more than 1.08 million establishments in the country that year, according to the local statistics agency. 

“Startups and MSMEs usually pay more for healthcare plans given their low employee count and lack of utilization history,” Kwik.insure noted.

“Health insurance providers are also challenged to manually serve thousands of these smaller companies resulting in higher costs and slower turnaround times. Such challenges are amplified for individuals.” 

Kwik.insure has introduced monthly healthcare subscriptions for Filipinos without healthcare coverage, targeting MSMEs and unserved individuals such as freelancers, dependents, and solo entrepreneurs. 

Underwritten by insurance company Etiqa, KwikCare Health Subscriptions are renewed monthly without lock-in periods and cash-outs in its accredited clinics and hospitals in the country.

Provisions include free access to check-ups, in-patient and out-patient care, and emergency hospitalization.

Prices start at P995 per month with a maximum benefit limit per illness of P50,000 up to P150,000. 

“[We] will introduce more inclusive variants in the coming months,” Mr. Angluben noted. — Miguel Hanz L. Antivola