1st commercial microinsurance only worth P10 each

The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Corp. (Philamlife) launched the country’s first-ever SMS-based, pre-paid and inexpensive microinsurance policy.

For a mere P10 per card or policy, Philamlife insures the policyholder for up to P10,000 renewable every 15 days.

Lizanne C. Uychauco, Philamlife chief marketing officer and senior vice president said that the microinsurance product, known as AKSItext, was ideal for accident-prone jobs such as drivers, construction workers, vendors, and commuters.

Study shows that the Philippines is the fourth most accident-prone country in the world with 5.8 million deaths due to accidents.

Philamlife president and chief execuive officer Jose L. Cuisia Jr. said that introducing microinsurance allows more Filipinos access to protection otherwise inaffordable due to its high cost.

"The introduction of AKSItext is timely as the Insurance Commission (IC) wants at least 20 percent of the country’s population to have some kind of insurance protection within the next few years," Cuisia said in a press briefing.

Between five to seven percent of the population are holders of private sector-initiated insurance policies. The country’s insured population is near the 15-percent level, most of which are covered by government pension funds such as the Social Security System (SSS), and the Government Services and Insurance System (GSIS).

The microinsurance product will be sold in sari-sari stores, groceries, popular associations and organizations. "We are also giving business to the small and micro entrepreneurs," they added.

But the Philamlife senior executives made it clear that what they would like to achieve in the interim was to popularize insurance protection or the wide-scale acceptance by the lower income segment of society. The popular notion is that insurance is only affordable for the A and B class.

The new product is packaged like a pre-paid cellphone card, and activated via SMS or text message. It covers individuals from ages 18 to 65 years old, although these may in the future be lowered to up to three-years. – Ted Torres