Phl, 5 others ink microinsurance pact

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Finance-National Credit Council (DOF/NCC), Insurance Commission (IC), along with insurance regulatory body representatives from five Asian countries have signed a pioneering declaration that recognizes the challenges to providing risk protection to low-income individuals and outlines forward actions to promote inclusive insurance market in the respective countries. 

The Cebu Declaration on Inclusive Insurance was signed by insurance regulators and supervisors from Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam at the recently concluded Mutual Exchange Forum on Inclusive Insurance (MEFIN). The forum was hosted by the IC, and organized by GIZ RFPI Asia with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Cebu. 

In a press statement, IC Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc remarked that the Declaration, a non-binding manuscript, “recognizes the importance of inclusive insurance as a tool for poverty reduction and social and economic development and underlines the instrumentality of insurance industry supervision in fostering inclusive insurance markets.” 

It focuses on industry and consumer protection that contributes to local as well as global financial stability. Signatories to the declaration commit to creating an enabling environment for inclusive insurance markets and contribute to developing insurance regulation that is evidence-based.  

GIZ RFPI program director Antonis Malagardis stated that the aim of such a platform such as MEFIN is to provide space for insurance regulators and supervisors in Asia to share their unique experiences in promoting inclusive insurance markets and to learn from each other.

He added that thematic approaches such as for agro-insurance, health, pensions and disaster risk management would feature in the cooperation that the declaration envision to facilitate for the public and the private sectors.

Organized through the Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-poor Insurance Markets (GIZ RFPI Asia) program, MEFIN was designed to foster peer-to-peer exchange of insurance regulatory and supervisory experiences and lessons and to plot concrete actions plan for which technical cooperation could be formed. 

This display of commitment is aligned with the long-standing efforts in the insurance industry to enhance knowledge exchange and learning among insurance regulators and policymakers.

The declaration could translate into concrete applications of the Insurance Core Principles espoused by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the global standard-setting body for the industry. 

Asian insurance industry stands at the threshold of a leap into an exciting phase of global exchange, and will serve as a major fulcrum for promoting risk protection to its vast population of low income households and small business by providing access to insurance services,” remarked Arup Chatterjee, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at Asian Development Bank.

GIZ RFPI Asia is a regional program that seeks to improve regulatory and supervisory preconditions for effective insurance protection of low-income populations in Asia.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the program supports selected Asian countries to enhance insurance regulatory and supervisory capacities. Additionally, RFPI Asia will facilitate the development of innovative insurance solutions, especially in the areas of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), disaster risk management and agriculture.