By Herminia S. Jacinto
Yes, the Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific, better known as IIAP, is 50 years old! It was founded in August 1974 under Presidential Decree 530 issued by then-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., upon the recommendation of former insurance commissioner Gregoria Cruz-Arnaldo. Madam commissioner Arnaldo had the foresight of establishing an insurance school where the insurance employees can acquire the training for the various lines of insurance. The mission was clear — to elevate the standards of insurance and reinsurance across developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. This mission was further highlighted in the Round Table Meeting of Insurance Executives in April 1979 where IIAP was designated as one of the four centers tasked with advancing the industry standards. IIAP was the first institute in the Asian region. Through the relentless efforts of commissioner Arnaldo, she got a lot of support from the insurance companies in the Philippines. The Ayala group of insurance companies, composed of the Insular Life Assurance Co. (before it was mutualized), the Filipinas Life Assurance Co., the FGU Insurance Corp. and the Universal Reinsurance Corp., donated the lot and building in Alabang to be the first home of IIAP. The other insurance players in the country contributed toward making the IIAP a suitable place for learning. Participants came from all over Asia. IIAP had to construct dormitories for the foreign participants since there were no hotels then in the area. IIAP can say, with great pride, that it is the forerunner of many of the other institutes of insurance in the region.
Over the 50 years of its existence, IIAP has become the place where one can get both basic and specialized courses in various lines of insurance, life and nonlife. The most patronized course is the Basic Nonlife Insurance Course, which teaches the students the basics of various lines like, fire, marine, aviation, motor, personal accident, and many more. Our local insurance companies require and send many of their employees to take this basic course. To make it easy for employees of branches of these companies located outside Manila or Makati, IIAP brings these courses to the provinces in coordination with the branch officers or with some of the insurance organizations in the area. IIAP has also forged a relationship with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) where a student can earn a certification degree from CII after passing the Basic Nonlife Insurance Course and taking the series of online examinations administered by CII.
The institute is an active member of the Asean Insurance Council education committee which conducts lectures and seminars on topics of interest to the insurance practitioners in the region. One such topic is Reinsurance, which is jointly sponsored by the insurance institutes with global reinsurance experts as lecturers. The course is offered online so participants from all over the region can attend. One benefits not only from the lectures but also from meeting other reinsurance players with whom they can exchange business.
IIAP does not offer technical courses only. There are also management, communication and financial reporting subjects to make the insurance player an all-around employee or executive. In an earlier column, I talked about the Select Universities Insurance Training Scholarship program. This is a 10-week training program for qualified graduates from the various universities in the country to undergo comprehensive training in various subjects of insurance. After graduation, these participants are farmed out to insurance companies who may need them. This is IIAP's way of helping the insurance industry discover or find talents for their companies. As of this writing, there are now discussions with a group of seasoned industry executives to develop a course on Leadership and Management to prepare existing talents in the company for higher positions.
Turning 50 is indeed a milestone for the IIAP. We are now recognized as a place of learning by the insurance industry in the region and other countries. IIAP will strive to provide more services to the industry as we move on to the next 50. The institute is managed by a board of trustees composed of 15 men and women who are experts in various fields of insurance. Classes are conducted in the 26th floor of the BPI Philam Building along Ayala Avenue in Makati or in various sites in the provinces as needed.
Herminia "Ming" Jacinto is chairman of IIAP.
Source: manilatimes.net
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