The promotion of insurance as mitigation tools in government’s disaster risk reduction is a measure that industry stakeholders wish President Duterte would include during his State of the Nation Address (Sona).
This is what Philippine Life Insurance Association (Plia) General Manager George C. Mina told the BusinessMirror when asked what the organization’s wish list is in line with President Duterte’s Sona on July 22. He explained that the promotion of both life and nonlife products as risk mitigation tools in the campaigns of the government is just one of many.
Mina said if people see government exerting more effort to emphasize the role of insurance products as risk-mitigation tools in times of calamities and natural disasters, more Filipinos would patronize these products and services.
“This will widen the information-campaign reach on the value of insurance in helping address life’s adversities,” he added.
Plia said Duterte should also help promulgate financial lite-racy subjects in the curriculum of schools nationwide.
“DepEd [Department of Education] should include in the K to 12 high school curriculum a subject on financial literacy and work with all stakeholders in coming up with an integrated module content,” Mina added.
The inclusion of allowing cross-border life insurance selling to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the round of negotiations under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) is also in Plia’s wish list.
The move is expected to help local life insurance players to tap the significant OFW markets across the region.
The AFAS “aims to significantly eliminate restrictions to trade in services and to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Asean services suppliers. It provides guidelines for Asean member countries to progressively improve market access and to ensure equal national treatment for services suppliers within Asean.”
Troo Corp. President and CEO Hans Loozekoot added that measures on further developing financial markets, keeping up with developments in technology, as well as further investments in the quality of education and infrastructure in the country are also part of their wish list.
Loozekoot, meanwhile, said that strengthened efforts should be focused on attaining financial inclusion both from the government and private sector.
“Financial inclusion should remain a priority,” said Loozekoot who is also the President of Plia.
Troo is a life insurance company that is a joint venture between East West Banking Corp. and Ageas International Insurance.
Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (Pira) Executive Director Michael F. Rellosa said that for the nonlife insurance industry, they hope the President will touch on the lowering of taxes for the insurance industry as well retaining the minimum net-worth level for insurance companies at P900 million.
“Lower taxes and for the minimum net-worth to stay at the P900 million mark,” Rellosa told the BusinessMirror.
In January this year, Rellosa said that he sees most nonlife companies in the country would be able to comply with the increase in the requirement. He added that some of the nonlife insurance companies are looking to merge with other companies to be able to meet the paid-up capital requirement.