The Microinsurance MBA Association of the Philippines Inc. (MiMAP), also known as Rimansi Organization for Asia and the Pacific, is a formal association of Mutual Benefit Associations (MBAs) engaged in microinsurance. Its underlying advocacy is financial inclusion. In this regard, the Insurance Commission has found a natural partner in its own advocacy of financial literacy, microinsurance and promotion of insurance in general.
While mutualized insurance companies are also owned and managed by its members just like MBAs and can sell insurance to the general public, MBAs are only allowed to sell insurance to its own members. Microinsurance has, in fact, proliferated largely due to the presence of MBAs in the communities. Being members of these MBAs generates commitment to actively participate in its advocacies.
Rimansi started out as a microinsurance and MBA resource center founded on March 17, 2005. It provides technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs). Initially, it was known as the Risk Management Solutions Inc. (Rimansi). Later, it was known as the Rimansi Organization for Asia and the Pacific Inc. The founding members of Rimansi were six MFIs, a rural bank and an MBA, viz: Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc., Kasangyangan Foundation Inc., People’s Alternative Livelihood of Sorsogon Inc., Rural Bank of Talisayan, Uswag Development Foundation, CARD MBA, CARD Bank and CARD NGO. Rimansi has assisted MFIs in the establishment of MBAs throughout the country. In 2015, after 10 years of operations, Rimansi converted itself into a microinsurance MBA association.
As of March 2017, MiMAP performance figures are impressive. It is working with 18 microinsurance MBAs with a combined reach of about 4.79 million members nationwide, and insuring about 17.22 million Filipinos. The contributions collected (premiums) totalled P855.38 million. It has paid claims amounting to P243.73 million. And it has equity value of P5.92 billion.
These microinsurance MBAs provide life microinsurance plans and other optional life plans, as well as health and retirement coverages. Rimansi is an observer member of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, joining it in 2007.
In 2008 Rimansi launched the Solvency, Efficiency, Governance, Understanding, Risk Management, Affordability, Development, Outreach performance standards as indicators to measure the performance of microinsurance MBAs.
One of the motivations in gathering the small MBAs into an association is the need to assist them in terms of their respective investment portfolio. Given their small capacity, they only tend to invest in low-yielding bank deposits and government securities. They are unable to develop expertise in the investment field. Moreover, several of these MBAs are in the provinces where they have little or no access to high-yielding investments. Through the initiative of MiMAP, the available investment funds of these MBAs can be pooled, and a more aggressive investment strategy can be formulated.
At present, the president of Rimansi is Ms. May Dawat. Its executive director is Jun Jay Perez.
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Lawyer Dennis B. Funa is the current insurance commissioner. Funa was appointed by President Duterte as the new insurance commissioner in December 2016. E-mail: dennisfuna@yahoo.com.
