Finance dept ups micro-insurance literacy program

Sunstar - Baguio
Tuesday, July 24, 2012

THE Micro-insurance program is multi-awarded and the best among Asian countries as disclosed by Department of Finance (DoF) Undersecretary Gil Beltran, in a press conference, Friday, during the Cordillera Advocacy Seminar: “Magpaseguro para Protektado.”

With the sound economic climate in the country as growth rate stands at 6.4 percent this first quarter of 2012, it is a viable program to both service provider and potential clients.
 
Beltran said the micro-insurance program intends to help the poor rise from poverty. Aside from financial risk protection – from natural or personal disaster or hazard, with micro-financing also able to support the low-income earners sustain their livelihood.

Beltran said the country’s micro-insurance program is on track and running smoothly. From zero when they started two years ago, there are now four million micro-insurance policies sold by both mutual benefit associations and insurance companies.

Beltran assured micro-insurance has a big market as around 26 percent of the country’s population lives below the poverty line and with affordable premium ranges from P1.00 to a maximum of P20.00 a day, policy holders are also guaranteed with insurance benefits of up to P200,000.

Beltran explained along with their micro-insurance development partners such as the Insurance Commission, Asian Development Bank, Japan Fund for Poverty reduction and German International Cooperation, they are continuously working hard to put the whole system in place, including making sure only capable and licensed micro-insurance providers  are involved in the market.

Beltran also enjoined local media practitioners to push for a wider acceptance of micro-insurance among the informal and low income sectors.

“By helping the poor, through micro-insurance, we can enable them to participate more actively, economically and by continuously improving the program and with the government’s goal of a stronger economic growth of around seven to eight percent, we are hoping to make a dent on the country’s poverty thresh hold, maybe from 26 percent, down to 15 to 16 percent by 2016,” Beltran added.

The advocacy seminar capped a three-day micro finance training from July 16 to 19 as part of the nationwide micro-insurance literacy campaign. (Carlito C. Dar)