Insurers eye Davao for key insurance projects

DAVAO City, Philippines  – The country’s non-life insurance companies are looking at Davao as a possible model city for innovative projects in the insurance industry.

Speaking at a forum in this city last week, Mario Valdes, general manager of the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA), said the Davao city government is very much willing to serve as partner in promoting insurance consciousness to its constituents.

“Davao knows the importance of insurance and is very supportive of the non-life insurance industry,” Valdes said at a forum sponsored by the Davao Insurers Club.

Valdes was here together with officers of the Philippine Insurers Club (PIC) from Manila for the annual observance of the Insurance Consciousness Week (ICW) which PIRA and PIC are promoting. He met with Davao City Planning Chief Rafael Ledesma and discussed ways on how the insurance industry and the city government could work together.

Ledesma noted that in developed countries like the United States, the insurance industry is a partner of the government in many aspects. One of them is driver’s education where insurance companies play a key role in instilling discipline among motor vehicle owners.

“In the US, if you are an accident-prone driver you will suffer because your insurance premium will be very high,” he said. “I hope our local insurance industry can have the same policy.”

PIC Director Ben Oandasan said there is already a “bonus-manos” policy in the local insurance industry wherein those who do not file claims are rewarded with lower premiums while those with numerous claims are penalized with higher rates.

However, he said the stiff competition among insurers in Metro Manila is preventing the industry from enforcing this policy. “Maybe we can finally do it in Davao,” he said.

Another aspect that insurance companies can help is the strict enforcement of the Fire Code and Building Code. Ledesma said insurance is a requirement before any structure can be constructed and insurance companies can deny a building owner’s application if violations in the Fire Code and Building Code are suspected.

“In the US, after Hurricane Katrina, it was mandated that new buildings must have a one meter elevation. Insurance companies are the ones that guard against violations because they will be the ones who will have to absorb the risk,” Ledesma said.

The City Planning Chief, meanwhile, promised insurance companies that it will continue doing its share in ensuring safety and stability in the city, two qualities that are highly valued by the insurance industry.

Valdes said PIRA will be meeting soon to formalize its partnership with Davao City and roll out pilot projects early next year.

PIC president Leticia Pagharion, for her part, said whatever will be learned from the industry’s partnership with the Davao government can be applied to other areas in the country.

“Davao can serve as a laboratory for insurance industry-initiated projects. From here, we can gauge if it will work in other cities whose leadership is similar to Davao’s,” Pagharion said.

Davao Insurers Club president Louie Manaig welcomed the development and promised to work hand-in-hand with PIRA and the PIC in a year-long program to promote insurance consciousness in the city.