MANILA, Philippines — CashKO, a subsidiary of Philippine InsurTech company RuralNet, now protects over 6.1 million underserved Filipinos across 81 provinces through its affordable microinsurance network, driving a critical shift toward grassroots financial resilience.
This comes as the company deploys its “made-to-measure” insurance offering to directly address the country’s growing healthcare and protection gap. Unlike traditional one-size-fits-all insurance products that remain financially out of reach for low-income families, CashKO’s coverage is structured to address final medical liabilities and funeral expenses. Because terminal illnesses frequently drain a family’s entire life savings before a loss occurs, these tailored life policies act as an immediate financial shock absorber, protecting vulnerable households from falling into deep poverty before other financial support can arrive.
This safety net coincides with a shifting landscape in public health anxieties in the country. About 67% of adult Filipinos identify staying healthy and avoiding illnesses as their most urgent personal concern, outranking immediate economic worries. Yet, a protection gap remains, with the latest national insurance penetration remaining low at 2%. For the informal sector and rural communities, the sudden economic shock of a severe illness frequently forces families into predatory debt cycles, effectively resetting their economic progress to zero.
Lolita Lugasan, a market vendor, shares how she utilized CashKO through a local lending partner after the sudden passing of her husband. With the family’s savings exhausted by prior medical care, Lugasan noted that immediate financial assistance arrived within days, allowing her to cover urgent costs while preserving half of the funds to sustain her small business and protect her family’s livelihood.
“Makalipas ang ilang araw matapos mamatay ang asawa ko, mabilis kong nakuha ang claim. Ramdam mo na may nag-aalaga sa iyo, may malasakit (Just a few days after my husband passed away, I received the insurance claim quickly. It makes you feel like someone is truly looking after you and genuinely cares),” said Lugasan.
“‘Yung nakuha ko sa CashKO, kinabukasan, nataon na birthday niya. Hinati ko ‘yun. Yung kalahati, ipinanghanda ko. Pero yung kalahati, inilagay ko sa negosyo ko para may umiikot akong puhunan (The payout I received from CashKO arrived just in time for his birthday the next day. I split the money—half went toward preparing a meal for his birthday, and the other half I invested back into my business so I would have capital to keep it running),” she continued.
CashKO’s tailored plans are co-designed alongside local institutions such as rural banks, cooperatives, and microfinance lenders to match the unique income patterns and risk exposure of specific communities.
“Financial protection should be within everyone’s reach. It should not be a luxury, but a necessity. Our microinsurance service is tailored to the unique needs of Filipino households, moving away from rigid, traditional insurance and instead co-designing ‘made-to-measure’ plans with local institutions. By leveraging technology, we are helping more Filipino families build genuine financial resilience and long-term peace of mind, so that losing a breadwinner doesn’t mean starting back at zero,” said Justin Arcenas, founder & CEO of RuralNet Inc.
A key driver of CashKO’s scalability and impact is RuralNet’s proprietary digital infrastructure. The platform has streamlined the end-to-end claims process to maintain a 97% claims approval rate while turning around payouts 75% faster than the industry average. This speed proves to be critical for low-income beneficiaries who require immediate liquidity to avoid high-interest emergency loans.
By enabling rural banks, cooperatives, and microfinance institutions to integrate insurance into their existing services, CashKO has expanded its reach through a robust network of more than 5,000 partner branches across 81 provinces. Today, CashKO serves as the foundational financial and operational core of RuralNet’s tech-driven ecosystem, lowering operational overhead and eliminating the traditional distribution and trust barriers that have limited the rural insurance sector.
With a proven track record of handling over 6.1 million covered lives, CashKO’s tailored life microinsurance solutions form a vital safety net for the country’s most vulnerable sectors in the Philippines.
For more information, you may visit ruralnet.ph or micro.cashko-insurance.com.
