For many Filipino families, a single emergency, whether an illness, a fire or a typhoon, can wipe out years of savings. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' 2025 Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey, only 30% of adults said they could absorb an unexpected expense, and 48% said they would have severe difficulty raising emergency funds. Only half of Filipino adults owned a formal financial account.

Cebuana Lhuillier, best known as a pawnshop and remittance brand, has spent years trying to close that gap by putting simple financial products within reach of people who have never had them.

A network that reaches everywhere

With more than 3,500 branches nationwide, Cebuana Lhuillier operates in places where banks are scarce. The company says it serves more than 27 million Filipinos. That reach has allowed it to offer services such as remittances, savings and insurance to people who might never walk into a bank.

Insurance from ₱50

Its most distinctive offering is microinsurance. Through Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Brokers, the company sells ProtectMax, a plan that provides four months of coverage for a premium of just ₱50, available to people aged 7 to 70. In 2025, the brokerage booked ₱1.766 billion in premiums, up 24%, and says it now covers more than 21.3 million Filipinos through 40 insurer partners. In the same year, 10,837 ProtectMax claimants received a total of ₱36.4 million in benefits.

"At Cebuana Lhuillier, we have always believed that insurance should be within everyone's reach, regardless of circumstance," said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of the PJ Lhuillier Group. "Financial protection remains a critical component of household resilience."

The company's brokerage has been named Domestic Broker of the Year by Insurance Asia for five consecutive years.

Savings and second chances

Through Cebuana Lhuillier Bank's Micro Savings account, which can be opened with ₱50 and a single ID, more than six million Filipinos had opened accounts within three years of its launch, as of 2022.

The group's foundation has also supported the government's Alternative Learning System (ALS), which helps out-of-school youth and adults complete their basic education. As of 2024, the program had reached 60,000 learners through 155 community learning centers in 70 provinces. "Education has always been deeply personal advocacy for me," Lhuillier said.

Why it matters

Financial inclusion is often discussed in terms of bank accounts and digital wallets. Cebuana Lhuillier's experience shows that for many families, the most urgent need is protection: a small, affordable safety net against the shocks that can push a household into debt. By combining a physical branch network with low-cost products, the company has shown that serving the unbanked can be both a social mission and a viable business.