By Ronnel Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:50:00 11/01/2010
Filed Under: Insurance, Government
MANILA, Philippines—The government is now pushing efforts to expand life insurance coverage among the people.
At present, only 13.9 percent of the country’s population have insurance coverage—a disparity the government hopes to address by promoting micro-insurance as well as policies that offer low-priced premiums.
To boost this campaign, the Philippines will host the 6th International Micro-insurance Conference to be held in Manila on Nov. 9 to 11.
Over 500 delegates from around the world are expected to take part in the proceedings, said Dirk Reinhard, chairman of the conference steering committee.
According to Reinhard, most delegates recognize the importance of providing insurance services for low-income populations which, in turn, will enable a country to attain the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.
In a statement, Reinhard said the conference would focus on key issues, such as new distribution channels, claims-handling mechanisms, strategies for enabling the environment to develop micro-insurance, solutions for natural disasters, and insurance literacy.
“Of the many challenges the sector faces, insurance literacy is currently recognized as one of the most important hurdles to overcome,” he said. “Educating the clients on the benefits of insurance is an indispensable ingredient to the success of any micro-insurance program.”
According to Munich Re Foundation, the Germany-based organizer of the meeting, micro-insurance in the Philippines has been on the rise compared with the rest of world over the last few years.
However, Munich Re said that life insurance penetration rate in the country “is still very low.”
Even then, the group noted efforts to improve the figures, including the government’s adoption of a national strategy and regulatory framework for micro-insurance.
This policy “promotes greater access by the poor to small, affordable micro-insurance products and requires the formalization of all informal schemes of micro-insurance by 2012 to ensure that clients are adequately protected,” Munich Re said.
“The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association recently pledged to inform some 27 million Filipinos on the merits of securing insurance policies in support of the government’s literacy campaign,” it added.
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