Igloo Appoints Ramjit Lahiri to Close Philippines' 98% Insurance Gap
Instech firm Igloo named Ramjit Lahiri as Country Head for the Philippines with a mandate to embed insurance into the apps and platforms Filipinos already use daily. The country faces a 98% catastrophe protection gap, nearly double the global average.
Key Takeaway
Igloo bets embedded insurance through trusted platforms can close the Philippines' massive 98% catastrophe protection gap.
Ramjit Lahiri landed the top job at Igloo Philippines with a mandate to plug insurance into the apps and platforms Filipinos already use daily.
The newly appointed Country Head previously ran Carmudi Philippines and held senior roles at Lamudi Philippines and OYO Philippines before starting his career as a software engineer. His brief is clear: expand partnerships with banks, telcos, e-wallets, consumer finance providers, and digital platforms while broadening protection products.
Igloo already covers 20,000 riders through its partnership with motorcycle ride-hailing platform Angkas, offering personal accident insurance up to ₱682,931 ($11,400) and medical coverage up to ₱209,672 ($3,500) for premiums as low as $0.02 per ride. The company has launched 55 insurance products across 40 digital platform partnerships in the Philippines.
Lahiri said the solution is to embed insurance into consumer-facing apps and financial services Filipinos already trust, making the experience as simple as buying mobile load.
Igloo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Raunak Mehta said Lahiri's experience building digital marketplaces backed by financial services partnerships is exactly what the company needs for its next phase. Philippine insurance penetration sits at 1.78% to 1.79% of GDP, below the Philippine Insurance Commission's 2% target, while total premiums reached ₱527.17 billion ($8.8 billion) in 2025, up 14.1% year-on-year. The catastrophe protection gap in the Philippines stands at 98%, according to GlobalData, compared to a 58% global average.
🇵🇭 What This Means for Filipinos: Filipino gig workers, especially Angkas riders, can now access affordable accident and medical coverage starting at just $0.02 per ride — a fraction of traditional insurance premiums. Filipinos across 7,300 islands facing typhoons and earthquakes may finally access protection through GCash, Maya, and other platforms they use daily, instead of navigating traditional insurance agents.
