Malayan pursues microinsurance

MANILA, Philippines - In a country where over 70 percent of the population belongs to low-income groups, microinsurance can provide the way to deepen the current 13-percent insurance penetration level.

Speaking at the 6th International Microinsurance Conference, Malayan Insurance chairperson Helen Y. Dee said insurance firms that have the adequate resources and experience play a big role in reaching out to the poor.

Dee said that Malayan Insurance can help develop the microinsurance industry, citing its potential to reach at least 35 million Filipinos.

“They are classified as low-income but have sufficient funds to afford some form of insurance for their families and enterprises,” she said, at the gathering of over 500 participants from 50 countries to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the burgeoning microinsurance industry worldwide.

Microinsurance gives the poor, especially those in the developing world, protection from financial risks that can derail any progress they have made to work their way out of poverty. Providing them access to insurance services raises their awareness on the importance of having a financial safety net in case of accidents, emergencies and calamities that threaten their very survival.

Malayan pioneered the development of microinsurance products in the Philippines with the launch in 2004 of Todo Asenso, which was sold through rural banks.

In 2009, the company forged a partnership with a non-government organization involved in promoting microinsurance in the Philippines to market Bahay Asenso, a cover combining fire assistance and personal accident.

Malayan Insurance also recently tied up with MicroEnsure Philippines to develop and market an affordable range of insurance products for the poor. A partnership with the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) also produced a new product called Pinoy Assist to cover overseas Filipino workers and their families.

Industry association, the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) likewise tapped Malayan Insurance to be its representative in the drafting of a National Framework for Microinsurance that would provide incentives to companies engaging in this new frontier.