Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Philippines: Microinsurance coverage highest in Asia

Source: AIR eDaily | 04 Feb 2014

One out of five Filipinos is covered by microinsurance, making the Philippines the country with the highest coverage in Asia.

The Department of Finance (DOF) says that micro-insurance coverage in the Philippines hit 19.95 million last year, or 20.4 percent of the population, from only three million in 2008 when only 3.3 percent of the population was covered.

Citing figures from the World Bank, the DOF said that the microinsurance penetration rate in the Philippines last year was ahead of Thailand’s 14.1 percent, India’s 8.9 percent, Bangladesh’s 5.1 percent, Malaysia’s 3.6 percent, and Pakistan’s 3 percent. The penetration rate of microinsurance stood at only 0.9 percent in China, 0.5 percent in Indonesia, and 0.2 percent in Vietnam.

Mr Emmanuel Dooc, chairman of the industry regulator, the Insurance Commission, has said that the government has set a goal of further increasing the penetration rate of microinsurance over the medium term.

He said that an estimated 27 million poor Filipinos should be covered by microinsurance by 2016. This would be achieved through more partnerships between insurers and cooperatives which have been the driving force behind marketing microinsurance in the country.

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