Insurers eye infrastructure projects as alternative investment option

Amid growing interest in investing in public-private partnership (PPP) projects, life insurers are seeking clarification from the government on how they can pursue infrastructure investments.

Also, the Philippine Life lnsurance Association Inc. (PLIA) is pushing for reforms in the sector’s tax regime to become more competitive amid Asean integration, the group’s new president, Ariel G. Cantos, said in a recent speech.

Cantos, who is also chief executive of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life), said PLIA had forwarded last year to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III the key concerns of the life insurance industry regarding taxation and its need for alternative long-term investment medium via the PPP.

An industry source earlier told the Inquirer that life insurance companies had “certain issues falling within the DOF’s domain,” specifically the Insurance Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, with regards PPP investments.

Hence, life insurance firms had sought a dialogue with Dominguez as well as Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa to address such issues, according to the source.

In January, Funa said the Insurance Commission would put in place regulation to guide infrastructure and PPP investments of insurers.

“In relation to the capitalization of insurance companies, we must consider the availability of investment opportunities for the industry. The Insurance Commission and the industry are expecting that more investment instruments or products will become available to the industry to improve its revenue from investments,” Funa had said.

Also, Cantos said PLIA planned to submit a proposal, for congressional consideration, “to rationalize the industry tax structure relative to its Asean counterparts and improve our competitive position under the Asean Economic Community.”

In the meantime, PLIA said it would also roll out the new medical information database (MID) system by April, following the Insurance Commission’s mandate for medical information gathering and sharing among PLIA member-companies “for the purposes of appropriate risk appraisal and fraud prevention.”
“PLIA will come out with implementing guidelines that will ensure compliance with the Data Privacy Act.”