Congress urged to fasttrack Insurance Code amendments

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s insurers are pushing for the speedy passage of proposed changes in the 1974 Insurance Code of the Philippines.

Speaking before members of the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA) yesterday, House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte agreed that such antiquated pieces of legislation must be amended and updated.

“We will fasttrack (the proposed congressional bills),” Belmonte said in an interview.

There are currently four bills filed in Congress proposing amendments to the insurance code: two with the Senate and two with the House of Representatives.

The insurance code, which was crafted in the late 1960s, needs a lot of changes including recognition of insurance products such as variables (investment-laced), bancassurance, microinsurance, the licensing process of insurance agents, and the types of investments allowed for insurers.

“But most of all, the proposed amendments give the Insurance Commission (IC) more powers to lead and regulate the industry,” said Mayo Jose B. Ongsingco, newly-elected PLIA president and president and chief operating officer of Insular Life Assurance Corp. (Insular Life).

Meanwhile, Belmonte said the House of Representatives would also be guided by priorities such as social irregularities, competitiveness issues, government inefficiencies, risks to the economy including policies or laws that must be changed or amended.

“We need to widen the net of protective conditions for the socially underprivileged,” he explained.

Others areas of concern include the indexing of the excess tax on the so-called sin products.

The new life insurance products not only address protection and security in relation to death. It also offers the opportunity of the insured to benefit from the investments made.

Then there is microinsurance that is designed for the needs as well as the income levels of the poorer segment of the population.

“But the sooner the amendments are made to the Code, the sooner the benefits for the population can be implemented or realized,” the PLIA president added.