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Despite Ondoy, Filipinos still not keen on getting insurance


Filipinos are still not that insurance-conscious despite the devastation wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng a year ago, according to a survey by the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA). Although there was an increase in application for insurance, it was not due to the people’s response to potential threat of death and destruction but as a response to bank requirements, said PIRA chairman Mitch Rellosa. “We believe they were caused mainly by the requirement of banks for [acts of God] policies as a standard in all policies written for all car and housing loans," he said. The survey revealed that there was a 35-percent growth in motor-vehicle coverage for the “acts of God" policies, also known as natural peril policies to insurers, Rellosa said. There was likewise a 12.5 percent increase in coverage for buildings and residential houses to cover flood-related damage, he added. “It is sad that despite what they experienced in Ondoy and Pepeng, Filipinos failed to see the importance of insurance. They get insurance mainly because it is a requirement," Rellosa pointed out. In Japan, people seek insurance for the protection that it provides, he explained. “We really need to educate our people on the importance of insurance." Data showed insurance claims due to Ondoy and Pepeng now total P15 billion. Some 95 percent or P1.5 billion worth of motor vehicle damage claims have been settled already, Rellosa noted. The remaining 5 percent, he said, was still undelivered due to lack of vehicle spare part replacements. As for property damage claims, the volume of settled claims now total 60 percent or P8.1 billion of the P13.5 billion that have been submitted to insurers, Rellosa said. More property claims are left unsettled until now because of the large-scale nature of such claims, he added. Meanwhile, Manila will host the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Insurance Council Meeting, which will take place from Nov. 24 to 26 at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City. Industry practitioners will tackle issues on insurance education, experiences on research work on natural disaster, and the region’s regulatory issues on insurance. “This meeting will provide insurance regulators and practitioners a forum to discuss topics of mutual concern and will offer a chance to compare notes and adopt best-practices region-wide," the Insurance Commission said in a statement over the weekend. This will be the second time that Manila will host the meeting since 1974, according to the commission. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV

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