HELP FOR OFWS At the lobby of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) head office in Mandaluyong City, two men check their belongings. The Insurance Commission is in talks with the DMW to craft new rules that will allow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to buy insurance products. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Insurance Commission (IC) is targeting to release this year the much-awaited regulations that would finally allow overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to purchase protection plans even while they are away from home to work in their host nations.
The new rules had faced numerous delays as they were previously targeted to be issued last year. But IC Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado told reporters that the government was moving closer to making insurance products more accessible to OFWs.
Regalado said the IC was still in talks with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in crafting the new regulations.
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At present, a key point of discussion between the two offices was the implementation of Republic Act No. 12021, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers. The law, which was signed by President Marcos in September 2024, mandated that Filipino seafarers be given adequate insurance coverage.
“We are making sure that the recently passed Magna Carta for Seafarers is effectively implemented,” Regalado said.
“The mandate is clear. We’re almost there,” he added.
Under IC Circular Letter No. 2020-109, local insurers can only sell products to people within the Philippines. Remote selling of protection plans to clients abroad is prohibited.
Restrictions
Simply put, OFWs can only avail themselves of life insurance products while they are physically present in the Philippines.
The regulatory restrictions have prevented many OFWs from buying life insurance products at home, leaving them with little to no social protection when they reach retirement.
Latest data from the central bank showed cash remittances had grown by 2.9 percent in January to $2.92 billion. With such a strong level of purchasing power, the insurance industry was hoping to expand their OFW clientele to deepen the insurance penetration in the Philippines, where premiums only accounted for 1.67 percent of gross domestic product as of 2024.
According to Regalado, the upcoming regulations would guide the local life insurance industry in setting the proper prices of protection plans for OFWs, who may be facing different levels of risks depending on the nature of their jobs and their host countries.