Private insurers eyed for state-owned assets

THE FINANCE department is looking at allowing private insurers to cover public assets and infrastructure, especially those owned by local government units (LGUs), according to the Insurance Commission.

Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc told the Inquirer that the Department of Finance (DOF) planned to enjoin private sector participation in insuring LGUs’ assets. “The Insurance Commission, as an attached agency of the DOF, is supportive [of such move],” he said.

According to Dooc, government assets were currently being insured by the state-run pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

While the GSIS has been efficient in insuring government-owned buildings as well as infrastructure, Dooc said there was still room for private insurance firms to participate as most government assets remained underinsured.

Dooc said that since the private insurance sector, which is comprised of many companies, has more assets than the GSIS, it has a greater capacity to meet obligations.

The latest Insurance Commission data showed that the industry’s total assets stood at P1.02 trillion as of end-2014, the first time that their combined assets exceeded the trillion-peso mark.