PIRA leads microinsurance research for SEA region

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has volunteered to lead the research work for the development of micro-insurance and other insurance-related concerns in the Southeast Asian region.

During the recent 37th ASEAN Insurance Council (AIC) Meeting in Singapore, Dr. Pedro P. Benedicto Jr., chairman of the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) offered the country’s services in gathering data and analyzing facts on important industry issues, particularly micro-insurance or insurance for the poor.

Benedicto said the Philippines is recognized as a leader in the field of micro-insurance.

Research work will also be done on three other important areas of insurance in Southeast Asia, namely solvency and capitalization of insurance companies, compulsory insurance, and taxation of insurance products.

These three areas are very contentious, apparently not only in the Philippines but also in the other nine countries that are part of ASEAN.

Benedicto said the Philippines needs to have a bigger involvement in AIC especially with the year 2015 fast approaching, which is the year the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) will take effect, resulting in the opening of borders and unifying the 10 member economies into a single ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

“The ASEAN Economic Community will become a reality come 2015. We need to have a proactive stance as far as microinsurance, solvency, compulsory insurance and taxation are concerned. We will be able to do that if we invest on research,” he said.

Eighty delegates from ASEAN-member countries attended the annual AIC gathering.

The meetings included industry discussions on key issues facing the region’s insurance markets.

Also in the discussions were the AFTA and how member countries can prepare for its implementation, and what the implications are for the insurance industry in each country.

The event culminated in the joint plenary meeting of the ASEAN Insurance Regulators, the ASEAN Insurance Council, as well as the ASEAN Council of Bureau, ASEAN Natural Disasters Research Works Sharing and ASEAN Insurance Education Committee.

Also part of the three-day program was the presentation by candidates and judges’ deliberation for the coveted Young ASEAN Insurance Managers Award or YAMA.

The ASEAN Insurance Council was established in 1978 as a private sector body responsible for overseeing the insurance industries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It aims to enhance professional standards in insurance practice, promote competency standards in grooming young managers in the ASEAN countries and foster closer cooperation among each other and in their dealings with the rest of the world.