Manila Bulletin
March 6, 2011, 12:54am
MANILA, Philippines – The Insurance Commission recently approved Pioneer Life’s micro-insurance programs – Group Credit Life Microinsurance and Group Personal Accident Microinsurance (long and short scale). Pioneer was one of the first to receive approval based on Insurance Memorandum Circular 01-2010, which emphasizes “the need for microinsurance, promoting its importance, defining its features and implementing regulations to ensure the safe and sound provision of microinsurance products to the poor.”
Pioneer has been spearheading industry efforts to make insurance available to the mass market, creating programs that are within reach of low income workers. It began conducting financial wellness sessions in 2006, to groups of both adults and the youth, sharing basic concepts of saving and investment. By 2008 Pioneer introduced savings and insurance products that are affordable and easy to acquire. Microinsurance was the logical next step. “Our vision is to become a model Filipino enterprise,” shares President and CEO of Pioneer Life Lorenzo Chan Jr. “In order to do that we have to go beyond serving the standard A-B and corporate markets. For us, microinsurance is a natural progression to bring a useful product to people who need it most.”
In partnership with NGOs and institutions offering microfinance, Pioneer has been offering microinsurance programs that meet the peculiar needs of this market such as the need to be covered for accidents, fire and flood. This early, the claims made by beneficiaries have helped keep kids in school and widows get back on their feet. “Microinsurance is an opportunity for us to make the customer our universe,” says Pioneer Life VP for Microinsurance Geric Laude. “We develop our programs only after we truly understand what their needs are.”
With the Insurance Commission’s approval of its programs, Pioneer is set to move fast forward towards a sustainable microinsurance business
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