Insurers search for industry icons

MANILA, Philippines - Who will be named Icons of the Philippine non-life insurance industry?

This will be known come October when the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association holds the 2012 PIRA Awards which will focus on the old-school value of Palabra de Honor (Word of Honor).

PIRA chairman Dr. Pedro Benedicto Jr. said for the first time, the 83 member-companies comprising the industry’s umbrella organization will be choosing the Icons who best represent the value of Palabra de Honor, the very foundation of the insurance business.

“We will be honoring the men and women who truly exemplify Palabra de Honor. These men and women lived their lives anchored on this value. Without them, the Philippine insurance industry will never be the same,” he said.

This will be the second staging of the PIRA Awards which is organized by PIRA in cooperation with the Insurance Commission. The PIRA Awards will be held on Oct. 18 at the grand ballroom of the Marriot Hotel in Resorts World Manila. The day of the awards will be devoted to the 2012 PIRA Stakeholders Convention which will be attended by industry leaders not only from the Philippines but also from the region.

Aside from the Icons of the Industry, PIRA is also introducing two other categories in this year’s PIRA Awards, namely the Green Company Award which will go to the member company that has the best environmental practice, and the Best in Innovation Award which will go to the company that has the most innovative product, service or process.

“We want to encourage our members to be environment-friendly and be innovative,” explained Benedicto.

The other categories that were awarded last year are still part of this year’s contest. They are the Best in Corporate Governance Award and the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programs Award. Benedicto added that these categories are now permanent fixtures of the PIRA Awards.

PIRA will also be honoring individuals and organizations outside the insurance industry. Included once again is the PIRA Media Awards which give recognition to the newspapers, TV and radio networks, and Internet websites for their role in promoting insurance and risk management. Ted Torres, the Philippine Star’s Banking and Finance editor, was one of the awardees last year.

A new non-industry category is the Partners of the Industry Award which will be given to individuals or agencies in government and private sector that have extended invaluable support to the growth of the insurance industry.

The PIRA Awards is the only badge of excellence in the Philippine insurance industry. It is a gala event attended by the top decision makers of the industry.