The Insurance Commission (IC) of the Philippines, an organization that was established in 1949 and mandated by law to regulate and supervise the country’s insurance industry, recently stated that it expects 20 percent of the population of the Philippines to be insured by the end of 2011 as a result of more insurance companies offering microinsurance to people with low incomes. According to IC, 13 percent of the population was covered by insurance in 2009. Since the beginning of 2011, however, IC has received requests to approve microinsurance products from Pioneer Life Incorporated, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corporation and Asian Life and General Assurance Corporation, as well as from twelve mutual benefit associations.
Since January 2011, IC has trained its staff on monitoring microinsurance companies. An educational program is also underway to teach poor people about insurance and other aspects of basic financial literacy.
By Julie Moksim, Research Associate
About the Insurance Commission (IC) of the Philippines: The Insurance Commission (IC) of the Philippines was created in 1949 and mandated by law to regulate and supervise the country’s insurance industry. According to the organization’s website, its mission is to “protect the interest and welfare of the insuring public and to develop and strengthen the insurance industry.” Specifically, its objectives are to promote the growth and financial stability of insurance companies; to maintain a minimum standard of performance for insurance companies; to educate the public about insurance; to establish a sound insurance market; and to safeguard the rights and interests of the insured. IC’s vision is that by 2020, every Filipino will have the opportunity to be covered by insurance.
Sources and Additional Resources:
Business World Online: “Wider Coverage Expected Due to Microinsurance”, April 25, 2011, http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Finance&title=Wider-coverage-expected-due-to-microinsurance&id=30264
MicroCapital.org Brief, March 30, 2011: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to Allow Only “Trained and Documented” Financial Institutions to Offer Microinsurance in the Philippines, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bangko-sentral-ng-pilipinas-bsp-to-allow-only-%e2%80%9ctrained-and-documented%e2%80%9d-financial-institutions-to-offer-microinsurance-in-the-philippines/
MicroCapital.org Brief, March 8, 2011: Eighty Cooperatives in Philippines Express Interest in Purchasing Weather-Index Microinsurance Offered by Coop Life Insurance and Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), Munich Re, GTZ Venture, https://www.microcapital.org/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/
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: Insurance Commission (IC) of the Philippines
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