Money transfer insurance is a welcome devt – IC

Innovative insurance products that protect the beneficiaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from a reversal of fortunes are a welcome development in the industry, but these should be approved by the Insurance Commission (IC). Insurers that invest time and money to develop new products, such as the proposal of AXA Insurance to keep the money transferred by an OFW to a relative in the Philippines from drying up is one such product. IC Deputy Commissioner Vida Chiong said the commission encourages innovative insurance products as a matter of policy as they give depth to the local market. “Innovation is welcome, but products like that planned for beneficiary families of overseas Filipino workers should first be submitted to us for approval," Chiong said. AXA executives in March announced plans to tap the $17-billion remittance market by offering beneficiary families a form of security that assures the amount of money transfer to keep coming even when the relative abroad, for whatever reason, is no longer able to send money back home. According to the executives, AXA is now crafting the product’s details so it will hit the market unhampered by regulatory and other possible hitches. The product – a remittance-linked security – would be ready in three to five months, AXA said. Chiong said such product could help make insurance more marketable with the insuring public getting to know more of the features beneficial to those buying into it. The industry has yet to attain its potential as the majority of Filipinos are not covered by protection from financial reverses, as well as the loss of life, limb or property, Chiong said. The $17-billion remittance market presents huge opportunities for companies like AXA, which can create products catering to the Filipinos' need for security, the company said. This is the first time a remittance-linked security will be marketed in the Philippines, the insurer said. —VS, GMANews.TV