MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Eighty Cooperatives in the Philippines Express Interest in Purchasing Weather-Index Microinsurance Offered by Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), Munich Re, GTZ Venture

Eighty cooperatives in the Philippines have reportedly expressed interest in purchasing a weather-indexed microinsurance product from Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS) to protect them from the attenuating impact to their loan portfolios that can be caused by extreme weather conditions [1]. The product serves as protection against the inability to repay loans due to losses caused by extreme weather events, namely typhoons, which are common in the Philippines. A set of weather indices has been created for each of the 1,700 municipalities nationwide so that – should conditions, such as wind gust or rainfall, exceed the predefined weather index trigger point for a municipality – the cooperatives in that location will receive a payout.

The offering is a result of a collaboration between Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS) of the Philippines; Munich Re, a resinsurance company established in 1880 in Munich; and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit GmBH (GTZ), a development arm of the German government. CLIMBS is owned by approximately 1,000 cooperatives, cooperative banks and cooperative federations and provides life, property and health insurance products.

By Jacqueline Foelster, Research Associate

About Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS): Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS) is a cooperative life insurance company founded in 1971 in the Philippines. It is owned by approximately 1,000 cooperatives, cooperative banks and cooperative federations and provides life, property and health insurance products. As of 2009, CLIMBS has total assets of PHP 325 million (USD 7.5 million).

About Munich Re: Munich Re is a reinsurance company established in 1880 in Munich, Germany. It provides insurance advisory services, reinsurance, primary insurance and health insurance. Its assets are managed by Munich Ergo Asset Management (MEAG). As of 2009, Munich Re has an investment portfolio of EUR 182 billion (USD 256 billion), return on equity (ROE) of 11.8 percent and return on assets (ROA) of 4.3 percent.

About Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ): GTZ is a federally-owned organization that was founded in 1975 in Germany. It operates in 128 countries to promote sustainable development by providing financial advisory services and funding.

Sources and resources:

[1] Artemis, “Eighty cooperatives expected to buy parametric microinsurance product in the Philippines”, http://www.artemis.bm/blog/2011/02/24/eighty-cooperatives-expected-to-buy-parametric-microinsurance-product-in-the-philippines/

MicroCapital.org Article, October 19, 2010, “Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), Munich Re, GTZ Partner to Create Microinsurance Product in the Philippines”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-coop-life-insurance-mutual-benefit-services-climbs-munich-re-gtz-partner-to-create-microinsurance-product-in-the-philippines/

MicroCapital Microfinance Universe Profile: Coop Life Insurance & Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Coop+Life+Insurance

MicroCapital Microfinance Universe Profile: Munich Re, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Munich+Re

MicroCapital Microfinance Universe Profile: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Deutsche+Gesellschaft+f%C3%BCr+Technische+Zusammenarbeit+GmbH+%28GTZ%29

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