AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, offers important facts to know about leukemia:
Types of leukemia.
The types of leukemia are grouped according to how rapidly the disease develops (acute vs. chronic leukemia) and the type of blood cell involved (lymphocytic and myeloid leukemia).
With chronic leukemia, the cells can carry out some of their normal functions and the abnormal cells multiply at a slower rate.
Lymphocytic leukemia involves growth abnormalities in the lymphocytes while myeloid leukemia affects the myeloid cells.
Symptoms to watch out for.
Some of the warning signs include bleeding or bruising easily, weakness and fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, swollen or bleeding gums, bone or joint pain, anemia, and sweating especially at night.
Leukemia symptoms, image taken from everydayhealth.com
Avoiding or quitting smoking is the most significant avoidable risk factor. Aside from quitting smoking, other lifestyle adjustments that you can make include eating healthier and exercising moderately for 150 minutes every week. Also, it’s best to avoid overexposure to the sun, artificial tanning devices, x-rays, and benzene from gasoline fumes, and emissions from some factories that can cause cell damage that may lead to cancer.
Leukemia mortality can be reduced if diagnosed and treated early.
Diagnosis and treatment may come with a hefty price tag, as chemotherapy sessions alone average P120,000 per session.
To protect your health and finances, AXA Philippines offers Health Care Access, a comprehensive and affordable health care solution for hospitalization and other medical needs. Health Care Access comes with a Critical Illness Booster which provides additional cash benefit if one gets diagnosed with any of the 56 critical illness conditions including leukemia. When diagnosed, the additional cash benefit can be used for paying other medical expenses for treatment or income replacement. The policy also includes free access to 24/7 teleconsultation with a medical professional and a Longevity Health Fund that one can utilize for medical needs at age 76 onwards.
Health Care Access comes in two types: Health Care Access Prime and Health Care Access Lite.
Health Care Access Prime provides comprehensive coverage of up to P5,000,000 annually. It also offers inpatient and outpatient care, and emergency care treatment up to the Annual Benefit Limit (ABL). This also includes an Annual Physical Exam starting from seven basic tests. The Annual Physical Exam helps with early detection and prevention in case of the possible occurrence of any critical illnesses. Health Care Access Prime also offers life and accident insurance benefits of up to P500,000.
On the other hand, Health Care Access Lite caters to people with existing healthcare plans but need additional health protection. Health Care Access Lite also includes life and accident insurance up to P500,000, and it can be enhanced with outpatient care, optical care, or dental care benefit for a small additional premium.
AXA Philippines, in partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) recently organized the “Road to Net-Zero: The look inside China’s quest to champion climate action” forum, hosted and moderated by Zaid Alrifai, Head of Architas Asia. Architas is a global asset manager under the AXA Group that manages investments on behalf of institutional and retail clients. This is the last installment of a three-part webinar series that advocates responsible investing.
Clockwise from top left: Aidan Yao, Senior Emerging Asia Economist of AXA Investment Managers; Zaid Alrifai, Head of Architas Asia; and Dexter Agcaoili, AXA Philippines Investment Solutions Director.
During this Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) webinar, Aidan Yao, Senior Emerging Asia Economist of AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) talked about how achieving the Paris Accord’s aim for carbon-neutrality can be a challenge without the immediate action of countries with high carbon dioxide emissions.
The good news is that China, the top carbon emitter, last year announced the country’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Their first step is to flatten the emission curve from now until 2030. Then, the transition from the peak of carbon emission to net-zero emission by the end of 2060. This undertaking comes with the need to reallocate resources from some parts of the economy and society.
“In China, green bonds helped to finance wide areas of industries that are consistent towards carbon neutrality such as the renewables, the electric vehicles, batteries, green building, and water conservation,” Yao said. Green bonds finance new or existing projects that benefit the environment and foster net-zero emissions.
China’s burgeoning green bonds market presents enormous investment opportunities for companies like AXA who have been following the principles of ESG.
As a long long-term global investor, AXA has a duty to act in the best interest of its policyholders and stakeholders. With the help of its global fund managers, Architas and AXA IM, AXA is committed to aligning its investments with the principles of ESG and integrating these factors in its investment decisions that over time would influence positive change in the companies it invests in.
As responsible investors, AXA aims to reach 25 billion euros in green investments by 2023, reduce its own carbon footprint of AXA’s general account by 20 percent by 2025. As an insurer, it is also developing insurance products that cater specifically to the needs of the vulnerable population. As an organization, it will promote awareness on climate change and the knowledge on ESG through training and further education of its employees and stakeholders.
Through the recent webinars, AXA and the ECCP hope to provide an informative platform where local investors can equip themselves with the knowledge needed to become more responsible in their investment decisions and for the fund managers to be their partners and effectively guide them through the whole process.
This holiday season, AXA Philippines, one of the leading insurance providers in the country, is giving Filipinos the opportunity to share the joy and protection of having health insurance through its new initiative, Emma Gives Back: Gift of Hope. AXA will donate 200 health insurance policies to Enfants Du Mekong scholars on behalf of those who will sign up for the Emma by AXA app from November 15 to December 15. Enfants Du Mekong is a French charity organization that helps disadvantaged children finish their studies by sponsoring education programs. It has been in the Philippines since 1997, operating facilities in the cities of Tuguegarao, Dumaguete, Cebu, and Butuan with over 3,600 sponsored Filipino scholars.
Existing AXA customers who want to support the scholars just need to download and register on the Emma by AXA app, available via the App Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei App Gallery. Along with the health plans, AXA will also donate holiday gift baskets to the scholars. Emma Gives Back: Gift of Hope is led by the company’s corporate social responsibility arm, AXA Hearts in Action, which is dedicated to making a positive impact on social inclusion, climate change, health, and disease prevention.
Rahul Hora, President, and CEO of AXA Philippines
“We launched this initiative to inspire everyone to embrace the spirit of gift-giving this holiday season, especially to the vulnerable communities. With just a few taps on their smartphone, you can give joy and the gift of health to deserving Enfants Du Mekong scholars during these challenging times,” said Rahul Hora, President and CEO of AXA Philippines.
Aside from being an avenue for social causes, the Emma by AXA app also offers free access to the AXA Rescue Line for 24/7 emergency assistance, including police, fire, ambulance, and roadside assistance. The app feature, which is available to the public, also allows the user to contact their loved ones in cases of emergencies. AXA customers can also easily purchase or monitor their insurance policies online through the app.
Previously, AXA Philippines also launched an Emma by AXA app promo in partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange (PCEx) wherein AXA donated recyclable plastic materials to PCEx for every new customer sign-up, turning over 16 tons of plastic. Aside from that, the leading insurance company also partnered with Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA) for the “Adopt a Mangrove Seedling” in-app promo wherein AXA planted mangrove seedlings on the customers’ behalf to help the environment.
AXA also implemented more socially responsible initiatives, such as the office-wide launch of paperless communications in 2020 wherein tons of paper will be saved every year since all transactions with customers are now sent electronically. Notifications are also sent via the Emma by AXA app or accessed via the Emma by AXA website.
The Philippines ranks ninth in the world among countries with extreme weather events in the 2020 World Risk Index, according to the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department by the House of Philippine Congress. When natural disasters and calamities strike, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are one of the most vulnerable segments.
Since MSMEs make up the majority of businesses in the Philippines today, Cebuana Lhuillier, one of the country’s leading micro-financial services company has teamed up with AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, and the German Development Cooperation / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (GIZ), to unveil its newest microinsurance product, the MicroBiz Protek Jr., which will help to insure microenterprises against typhoons, floods, earthquake, lightning, and fire for an annual premium as low as P172.
Rahul Hora, President, and CEO of AXA Philippines
“AXA Philippines is dedicated to sustainability, and we have launched this product in response to the climate and disaster risk that Filipino MSMEs are constantly exposed to. We hope that through this product, Filipino entrepreneurs can now enjoy the protection that they need to sustain their businesses during natural calamities and disasters,” said Rahul Hora, AXA Philippines President, and CEO.
Jonathan Batangan, PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies Vice President and Group Head
“With the Philippines being one of the top five in the world most at risk for natural disasters, I think it’s only right to offer such a product to our MSMEs. Hopefully, this is something that we can be able to scale and promote for the protection of the MSME sector,” said PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies Vice President and Group Head Jonathan Batangan.
The new product, which was introduced during a recent virtual launch, offers lump sum cash assistance in case of property damage caused by natural calamities and disasters. Moreover, it offers 10 percent personal accident insurance for two employees, 10 percent cover for robbery and burglary, and free emergency assistance through the Emma by AXA PH app.
Likewise, GIZ also shows its support to the MSMEs through this product: “Our private-public partnerships with companies like AXA Philippines is filling parts of the vacuum of climate and risk insurance products in the Philippines, and we are very happy with the development of the MicroBiz Protek Jr.” shared Dr. Volker Steigerwald, GIZ Programme Director.
(Clockwise from top left) Jimmy Loro, GIZ RFPI Asia senior advisor; Rahul Hora, AXA Philippines president, and CEO; Jonathan Batangan, PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies vice president and group head; and Dr. Volker Steigerwald, GIZ program director during the MicroDRI Project Microbiz Protek, Jr. product launch.
Also present during the virtual unveiling of MicroBiz Protek Jr. were Department of Trade Industry Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona and AXA Philippines Chief of Retail Propositions Alok Rungta.
Protect your business now by availing of MicroBiz Protek Jr. via https://bit.ly/3gPDMPq.
Responsible investing is a strategy and practice of incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in one’s investment decisions. It can yield better results in the long run, not just for the investor, but also for the community at large. One of the companies that believe this is AXA, a leading global insurance brand. In recent years, the insurance company has developed a philosophy of ‘responsible investing is also good investing’ as part of its efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The benefits of responsible investing were covered in “From All into All Clean,” a recent webinar organized by AXA in partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). The webinar featured the Chief Investment Officers of AXA’s global asset managers, AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) and Architas, who shared their experience in transitioning to a responsible investment approach and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors they consider in their manager and fund selection process.
Chris Iggo, Chief Investment Officer of AXA IM, said: “We want to invest in companies and in all kinds of different assets that not only deliver a good financial return but also, through their operations, are beneficial to society and to the environment. To us, responsible investing is also good investing. It’s not an additional service but at the core of what we do.”
Responsible investing is part of AXA’s global sustainability strategy that is built around climate action and inclusive protection. AXA assesses the impact of its sustainability strategy in three key areas: as an insurer, as an organization, and as an investor.
As an investor, AXA has committed to reaching €25 billion of assets in green investments by 2023 and to decrease the carbon footprint of its general account assets by 20% by 2025. Its asset managers practice an exclusions-based approach, where certain companies or sectors cannot be held in portfolios, and integrate ESG considerations in their investment processes. AXA has also developed a proprietary ESG research and scoring methodology, which has been applied to over 9,000 partner companies in its database.
“For us, ESG is a criterion that we believe enhances returns,” explained Jaime Arguelles, Architas’ Chief Investment Officer. “We believe that it is essential for us managers to have this integration right now to influence good behavior, and work towards climate change and other criteria of ESG areas.”
Webinar 2
“From All into All Clean: How your investments can support sustainable development and climate action” is the second of a three-part webinar series that will run until October. Through the webinars, AXA and the ECCP hope to provide an informative responsible investment platform where local investors can equip themselves with the knowledge needed to become more responsible in their investment decisions and for fund managers to effectively guide them through the whole process.
Webinar 3
The third webinar, “The Road to Net Zero: A look inside China’s quest to champion climate action” will be held on October 25 at 4 pm. For the full schedule and to register for the responsible investing webinars, visit the ECCP website at https://www.eccp.com. More information can also be found on the AXA Philippines Facebook page or by visiting the AXA Philippines website at https://bit.ly/AXAECCP_Oct.
The types of leukemia are grouped according to how rapidly the disease develops (acute vs. chronic leukemia) and the type of blood cell involved (lymphocytic and myeloid leukemia).
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