SUNDAY: JULY 24, 2016
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BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com
GoBear Philippines country director Rommel Torres, celebrity brand influencer Iya VillaniaArellano, co-founder Marnix Zwart and founder and chief executive Andre Hesselink
HOW GOBEAR HELPS FILIPINOS DISCOVER BEST LOANS, INSURANCE
By Kathreen O. Abaya and Regina C. Lintag
GOBEAR has opened a website designed for Filipino consumers to help them discover the best deals in travel insurance, credit cards and personal loans. GoBear, Asia’s first metasearch engine for financial products, was started by Dutch Andre Hesselink in Singapore in March 2015. GoBear is also present in Thailand and Malaysia and plans to open in Hong Kong and Vietnam later
this year. On why GoBear expanded to the Philippines, Hesselink says: “We see the biggest growth opportunities here, particularly in Southeast Asia. If you see the growth, especially online and e-
commerce, I think it’s been a good choice.” GoBear Philippines country director Rommel Torres says in a news briefing at White Space Manila in Makati City that the company aims to make a difference among Filipino clients of financial products. “Especially in the Philippines, it would really help Filipinos to have better choice and understanding on loans and insurance and how these financial services can help them in their everyday use,” says Torres.
Hesselink says GoBear was conceived based on an idea of a “totally transparent online search platform to compare insurance.” This was after he encountered difficulties in purchasing an insurance plan for his car in Singapore through the traditional route. Hesselink eventually gathered a team of like-minded individuals who made it their aim to simplify what many people considered complex. On why they chose the name GoBear, Hesselink says: “That’s
the fun part! We wanted a company name that would have a mascot and everyone wanted a bear. And GoBear also means going bare. We are laying it all out for our consumers.” GoBear offers a three-step process of “search-compare-select” that enables users to have a hassle-free comparison of their preferred travel insurance, personal loans, credit cards, car insurance, car loans, home loans and health insurance. The first three options are the available services at GoBear.com.ph. Aside from its accessibility feature, GoBear executives believe that they are “democratizing financial shopping experience” with unbiased and custom-made comparison process, because their user-oriented platform “neither aggregates nor sells products.” “We help customers make wellinformed decisions about what to buy and also where to buy because keep in mind, a metasearch engine doesn’t sell anything, so we are completely unbiased,” Hesselink says. The startup expects to introduce more products in the Philippine website to continue their name as “one of the fastest growing fintechs” in the industry, referring to financial technology. “We also wanted to make people curious because financial services aren’t really exciting products so we wanted to have a catchy name,” Torres says. GoBear hopes to promote the search engine among Filipinos through various ways starting with celebrity couple Drew Arellano and Iya Villania-Arellano. Iya says GoBear makes it easier for Filipinos to see the best financial products. “Us Pinoys, we always want to get the best deal out there. But that also means taking more time meeting new people, meeting with different insurance companies, meeting with different banks to know what the best services are and before you know it, you forgot everything.” “At least with GoBear, it’s all there on their site. It’s a search engine, so it makes it so easy,” Iya says.
PRUVOLUNTEERS BUILD HOMES IN BANTAYAN ISLAND PRUDENCE Foundation, the charitable arm of Pru Life UK’s regional head office Prudential Corporation Asia, held the fourth leg of its Regional PruVolunteer Program on June 18 to 25 to help build more disaster-resilient homes in Bantayan Island, Cebu. About 83 employee-volunteers of Pru Life UK and sister companies from 13 countries in Asia rendered a week-long volunteer work to help complete the remaining 62 houses committed by Prudence Foundation. “Super typhoon Yolanda took away countless homes, jobs, and lives, and even after more than two years, it is evident that much help is still needed. This is why we are humbled and grateful to have this opportunity once again to help in rebuilding and making lives better for the residents here in Bantayan Island,” said Prudence Foundation executive director Marc Fancy. “Prudence Foundation has a long-term and heartfelt commitment to support Asian communities, and nothing is more fulfilling for us than to help and see people stand firm again after an adversity.” “We are thankful to the local government unit, our partner NGO Habitat, and all volunteers
across the region for lending their time and strength in contribution to this initiative. Indeed, we do well by doing good together,” he said. Prudence Foundation trustee and Pru Life UK president and chief executive Antonio Manuel De Rosas noted the vital role of the private sector in contributing to nation building. “At the core of our business is our aspiration to make lives better, to help Filipinos get the protection they need. The Regional PruVolunteer Program allows us to immerse in the community and truly be involved in the cause that we are advancing. For this, we are grateful, and we will only continue to be committed to making lives PruVolunteers visit the site where 64 disaster-resilient houses better for Filipinos, especially our brothers and sisters whose liveli- have been turned over to the first batch of home partners in hoods were devastated by disasters September 2015. asset management employees from completed disaster-resilient homes such as Yolanda,” De Rosas said. About 90 percent of the popu- 12 markets including the Philip- – which can withstand magnitude lation of the island was affected pines (Pru Life UK), Hong Kong, 8 earthquakes and winds of up to by the super typhoon and while Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malay- 275 kilometers per hour – were much work has been done there sia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, turned over to the home partners. is still a need for housing support. Vietnam, and Cambodia – has Prudence Foundation also providIn 2013, the foundation commit- completed three legs of building ed sustainable livelihood through ted $2 million to support relief and new houses together with the lo- a contribution of 183 motorized long-term recovery effort in the af- cal community and international boats with fishing nets and 140 fected areas. Through the Regional non-governmental organization pedicabs or cycle rickshaws. The Regional PruVolunteer ProPruVolunteer Program, the team – Habitat for Humanity. In September 2015, 64 of the 133 gram is an initiative by Prudence which comprises life insurance and
Foundation in partnership with local NGOs to help provide meaningful, sustainable, and long-term assistance in times of disaster. Hundreds of employee-volunteers have joined forces to help thousands recover from natural disasters in Asia. PruVolunteers have helped build schools in Sichuan, China after an earthquake that claimed close to 70,000 lives in 2008, rebuild homes and facilities in Padang, Indonesia following a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 2009, clear debris and support children in Ishinomaki, Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and repair homes for the elderly in Mae Ai, Thailand in the wake of flash floods in 2012. Based in Hong Kong, Prudence Foundation was established by regional headquarters PCA to consolidate its long-term commitment to serve Asian communities. Disaster preparedness and relief is one of the Prudence Foundation’s three key areas of focus along with education and children. It has partnered with Save the Children and Plan International on a series of disaster preparedness and relief programs in Asia, including in the Philippines alongside the local business, Pru Life UK.