Gen Zs, digital natives that they are, see the world through a different lens. AIA Philippines believes that this different world view is the fresh perspective it needs to find innovative solutions to its business challenges.
This was what AIA Philippines had in mind when they launched AIA Life Hackers three years ago (then called AIA Philam Life Hackers)—to pick the brains of the Gen Zs and channel their groundbreaking ideas that will make them agents of change as they help AIA Philippines fulfill its promise of helping Filipinos live healthier, longer, and better lives.
Now on its third year, the online event had almost 1,200 student participants from colleges and universities across the country submitting their proposals under any of the three categories: Technology or Data Solution, Marketing Solution, and Product/Service Innovation. Each team is composed of five undergraduate college students (aged 18 and above) whose proposals were reviewed and judged, with the top 15 proposals qualifying for the finals round.
This year, Team Dried Squid Changers from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines was the winner for the Marketing Solution category while Team Philamthropic (composed of students from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University) cinched both the top prizes of the Technology or Data Solution and Product/Service Innovation categories. Each winning team brought home PHP100,000 per category. On top of the cash prize, winners of AIA Life Hackers 2021 will also get an internship opportunity at AIA Philippines.
Now on its third year, AIA Life Hackers 2021 continues to drive the company’s relevance in young people’s lives and create meaningful connections with them. In turn, the youth are empowered to become agents of change.
Team Dried Squid Changers’ AIA Sync
Mentored by ADA Philippines Managing Director Mayi Baviera, this all-girl team is composed of Lourey Ann Joy Enteria, Abigail Deanne Caig, Mary Joyce De Los Reyes, Annejeline Palomo, and De Leonor Marie Sestoso who proposed a reimagined recreational area called AIA Sync, a place that will be in sync with My AIA, AIA Philippines’s online platform. AIA Sync is a one-stop shop that will connect Filipinos to a wide range of activities/options for productivity, wellness, rest, play, and amusement that would bridge the chasm between the online (via My AIA) and offline experience.
While other contending teams had similar proposals, what made AIA Sync stand out is the fact that it is a recreational area that could physically realize the objective of allowing the brand to engage users and eventually making them aware of what AIA Philippines can offer.
Team Philamthropic’s micro-insurance and one-stop shop super app
The ‘winningest’ team that won in two out of three categories (and for the second consecutive year!) is composed of Jemar Luczon, Moreen Agustin, Crizan Kyle Jureidini, Ron Simon Lomibao, and Rachel Vivien Roxas, and they call themselves Team Philamthropic. Under the mentorship of AIA Philippines’ Product Marketing Specialist Allan Jay Corpuz, this team proposed a PHP19 micro-insurance and a super app that caters to both would-be financial advisors and consumers, earning them the top spots in the Technology and Data and Product Service Innovation categories.
The proposed AIA COVID Protect microinsurance is an affordable microinsurance for family-oriented Filipinos who seek to provide coverage for their entire family. Cognizant that most Filipinos do not have the financial capacity to pay for medical treatment with reduced household income due to the pandemic, low-cost protection for the whole family will be very helpful. At only PHP19 (hinged on COVID-19, as part of an interesting recall), this microinsurance would assuage families’ worries in the event that they get infected with the virus.
This low-cost microinsurance is targeted to all Filipinos, within the age range of 25 to 45 belonging to the socioeconomic class C and are typically the breadwinners of the family. With the rapid shift of consumers to digital financial services, the product will be made accessible through various digital platforms such as popular e-commerce sites (Lazada and Shopee), telecommunications network giants (Globe and Smart), and BPI mobile app aside from the usual AIA website.
Catalysts for a better, healthier future
AIA Philippines has long been the partner of Filipinos in helping them live better, providing health, wellness and protection solutions that support them in achieving healthier, longer, better lives. Life Hackers started in 2019 as a student-focused on-ground proposal pitch competition. It has evolved into a virtually based event due to the limitations of the pandemic in 2020, as AIA Philippines decided to carry on with the contest maximizing the online space. Two years since its inception, it has reached almost 1,200 young students nationwide. This positions AIA Philippines as a life insurance company at the forefront of innovation and change, while simultaneously solidifying the youth’s stance as catalysts of social change and the future.
“The Gen Zs are brimming with fresh ideas, and they just need a platform to showcase it,” says AIA Philippines Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang. “Through AIA Life Hackers 2021, we’re giving more young people the opportunity to come up with innovative, creative, and technology-driven strategies for more Filipinos to live better,” he concluded.