Gov’t not keen on insurance subsidy

The government is not keen on subsidizing insurance premiums for low-income Filipinos or giving perks to insurers even with a still much-needed push for an emerging micro-insurance market.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said in an interview that the government’s thrust was to encourage greater participation from commercial insurance sellers, mutual benefit associations and other private-sector entities.

“Right now we are not looking at tax breaks for insurers and we want to limit subsidies to the conditional cash transfer program,” Beltran said.

He said that while micro-insurance was expected to help the Philippines meet is millennium development goals, particularly in reducing the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line, the best way to improve access to this service was through a greater role for the private sector.

“We want this to be market-driven, with the private sector providing the supply based on demand,” Beltran said.

According to Reynaldo Vergara, chief of the Insurance Commission’s actuarial division, there were now some 7.8 million Filipinos covered by micro-insurance. He clarified that the number included the policyholder’s dependents.

This was more than double the 3.1 million individuals covered before a multisectoral drive to promote micro-insurance made headway in 2008.

“Micro-insurance growth is forthcoming as insurers become more familiar with the low-income market, and the market becomes more comfortable with them,” Vergara said.—Ronnel W. Domingo