After popular demand and successful holding in the past years, we proudly present you the return of the most awaited microinsurance course in South East Asia: Microinsurance – Assuring Success, organised by the Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific (IIAP) in collaboration with the ASEAN Insurance Council. Taking place virtually on October 21 and 22 this year, the course offers you the knowledge on best practices of microinsurance on product design, distribution, claims, collection, digitalisation and regulations; adapted to the current situation during the pandemic. With big names in the insurance industry from various notable companies and organisations as the speakers, do not miss this golden opportunity to enrich yourselves with new knowledge that is applicable in your effort as one of our industry key players. Click here for more information.

It comes just days after Chinese regulators gave the green light for mainland insurance companies to issue ‘Act of God’ bonds in Hong Kong The US$30 million bond could pave the way for the city to be a hub for natural disaster fundraising, says head of the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong China Reinsurance (Group) issued a US$30 million catastrophe bond in Hong Kong on Friday to pay for future claims resulting from typhoon damage in the Greater Bay Area and other parts of the country, according to a company announcement. The bond issued by the state-owned reinsurance giant’s subsidiary, China Property & Casualty Reinsurance, comes just a few days after Chinese financial regulators said they would allow mainland insurance companies to sell catastrophe bonds in Hong Kong. It is the first such bond to be sold in Hong Kong, and could pave the way for the city to act as a fundraising hub for mainland Chinese and other international insurance companies to raise capital to meet their funding needs for natural disasters. “This decision of a leading state-owned reinsurer not only exemplifies the potential and attractiveness of Hong Kong as an emerging [catastrophe bond] hub, but also demonstrates our crucial role as a global risk management centre,” said Clement Cheung, chief executive of the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong. China Reinsurance, or China Re, is the biggest reinsurance company in the country and the sixth largest globally. Also known as an “Act of God” bond, the catastrophe bond is a special type of debt issued by insurance or reinsurance companies and normally bought by hedge funds and pension companies. The instruments are attractive because they usually pay a higher interest rate than other fixed income products. The proceeds can only be used for paying insurance claims related to natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding and typhoons. The China Re bond issued via a Hong Kong special purpose company called Greater Bay Re will only be used to pay out insurance claims related to typhoons in the mainland. “The Greater Bay Area is among the worst hit areas in the country, with many typhoons and heavy rains. It is of the utmost importance to have proper insurance arrangements to manage the risks in these natural catastrophes to safeguard the development of the bay area,” said Zhang Renjiang, general manager of China Property & Casualty Reinsurance in a statement on Friday. “The first issuance of a catastrophe bond in Hong Kong is a major step forward to promote the Greater Bay Area development.” .In the last couple of years the government has introduced numerous measures to promote professional talent and capital flow within the bay area, Beijing’s ambitious plan to integrate nine cities in southern Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau in a bid to create a powerful and vibrant economic zone. Beijing is encouraging mainland insurers to tap funds in Hong Kong after the country was hit hard by bad weather in recent months. July’s floods in Henan province are likely to generate total insurance claims of up to 11 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion), according to Goldman Sachs, in what could be the largest payout for a natural catastrophe in China’s history. A large portion of the claims could come from Zhengzhou, where a lot of property and cars were damaged, Goldman Sachs said in a report in July. Insurance payouts in the wake of natural catastrophes totalled US$89 billion globally in 2020, the fifth-highest on record, according to the world’s second-largest reinsurer, Swiss Re. That is up from US$63 billion in 2019 and above the previous 10-year average of US$79 billion, the Swiss Re report said. Source: scmp.com

We strongly urge the immediate enactment of the proposed Financial Consumer Protection (FCP) Act. The intricate development of financial products and services resulting from advancements in technology has opened countless opportunities for financial markets and consumers alike. It also poses new risks, particularly to financial consumers. Reality has shown how financial products, including financial services accessed through digital channels, are susceptible to fraud or used for fraudulent purposes. Thus, it is of paramount importance to legislate reforms in the financial sector which will ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to protect the interest of financial consumers amidst the growing complexity of financial products and services. The FCP bill proposes to establish a comprehensive financial consumer protection framework covering a complex range of financial products and services, and delivery channels. The measure intends to address the lack of consumer protection mechanism related to the provision of financial products and services especially digital financial services. The proposed FCP act, among other things, will vest financial regulators with powers to determine the reasonableness of interests, fees or charges of financial products or services, issue cease and desist orders, and suspend operations of financial service providers in relation to a particular financial product or service. The proposed FCP act shall also allow financial regulators to expedite the adjudication of monetary claims arising from financial transactions, which will significantly help the financial consumers to seek redress and recover their losses from their financial transaction in an efficient and speedy manner. Thus, we strongly urge the immediate enactment of the FCP bill into law not only to address the economic hardship being encountered by the public during this challenging period but also to strengthen the Philippine financial ecosystem for the long term good of our country. AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES (AMCHAM) CEBU BUSINESS CLUB (CBC) CEBU LEADS FOUNDATION (CLF) CIBI FOUNDATION, INC. FILIPINA CEO CIRCLE (FCC) FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES (FINEX) FINTECH ALLIANCE PH GUILD OF REAL ESTATE ENTREPRENEURS AND PROFESSIONALS, INC. (GREENPRO) INVESTMENT HOUSE ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (IHAP) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (IPAP) MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (MAP) NATIONAL REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION, INC. (NREA) NORDIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. (NORDCHAM) PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY INSTITUTE OF ASIA (PASIA) PHILIPPINE COUNCIL OF ASSOCIATION AND ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES (PCAAE) PHILIPPINE LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION (PLIA) PHILIPPINE RETAILERS’ ASSOCIATION (PRA) PHILIPPINE WOMEN’S ECONOMIC NETWORK (PHILWEN) SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (SHAREPHIL) WOMEN’S BUSINESS COUNCIL PHILIPPINES (WBCP) PHILIPPINE INSURERS & REINSURERS ASSOCIATION (PIRA, Inc.) Click and download.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd revealed the plans for the reorganization of the government-owned Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), following its transfer to his department. According to the Department of Finance (DoF), the members of the reconstituted PCIC Board formalized the election of Dominguez as chairman and Agriculture Secretary William Dar as vice chairman during their first organizational meeting on Friday. The Finance chief said in his opening remarks that President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order 148 reorganized the board of directors of the PCIC and transferred its agency attachment from the Department of Agriculture to the DoF 'to ensure that its operations are rationalized and monitored centrally in order that government assets and resources are used effectively, and the government's exposure to all forms of liabilities, including subsidies is warranted and incurred through prudent measures.' He stressed that the board's first priority is to reorganize the PCIC, stop its financial hemorrhage, and provide greater insurance coverage to Filipino farmers. It is also necessary to increase the assets and crops covered by the PCIC, as well as to develop the agency into a credible tool for risk mitigation and resilience. Over the last two decades, the PCIC has not been performing at its best. Dominguez added that the state-run firm's activities have been reliant on considerable government subsidies. The national government has provided about P23.3 billion in subsidies through the national budget during the last 20 years. Since 2015, the Agri-Agra Fund has provided an additional 5.3 billion to the agency, he said. 'For next year, the proposed subsidy amounts to P4.5 billion. This trend is not sustainable,' the Cabinet official noted. Simultaneously, he said that the PCIC's activities must be self-sustaining, if not entirely subsidy-free. This necessitates a new business strategy as well as the most capable service management. To maximize value for Filipino farmers, insurance coverage should be expanded to encompass more crops, so that more farmers are covered from financial losses caused by bad weather, droughts, floods and other calamities, Dominguez continued. For some reason, he said PCIC has not engaged in reinsurance activities, which would have dispersed the risks and mitigated the losses. All of these aspects must be examined more closely by the new board. 'The PCIC must also encourage more private firms to offer agriculture insurance products. Our farmers stand to benefit from the efficiency in services offered by the private sector,' the Finance secretary emphasized. He added that PCIC should also take into account various types of insurance schemes used in other countries, such as index-based or parametric insurance, he pointed out. 'Unless we are able to scale up our crop protection insurance, we cannot substantially mitigate economic losses due to calamities further intensified by climate change,' Dominguez added. Dominguez believes that the PCIC should give higher insurance coverage to farmers at reduced costs in order to maximize value for the national government and taxpayers. It's also important to figure out how much money the government is losing as a result of the agricultural sector's lack of proper insurance coverage. 'To address all these issues I have laid out, the PCIC must be run by insurance industry professionals and guided by the best actuarial advice,' he said. It must hire an actuary who has been accredited by the Insurance Commission to value its actuarial reserve liabilities. 'Immediately, we must formulate the PCIC's insurance blueprint for the next three years with clear monitoring and evaluation methods,' Dominguez highlighted. The Finance department said the PCIC board also named lawyer Joyce Briones of the DoF Legal Affairs Office as the new corporate secretary of the PCIC. The new board of directors includes PCIC President Jovy Bernabe, Land Bank of the Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Borromeo, and Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Rolando Macasaet. Source: manilatimes.net

No region is immune to climate disasters the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, warning that “our window of opportunity” to prevent the worst climate impacts is “rapidly closing”. Drawing attention to the “deeply alarming” report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last month, Secretary-General António Guterres spelled out that “much bolder climate action is needed” to maintain international peace and security. He urged the G20 industrialized nations to step up and drive action before the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in early November. ‘Risk multipliers’ Against the backdrop of wildfires, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather events, the UN chief said that “no region is immune”. And he pointed out that the climate crisis is “particularly profound” with compounded by fragility and conflict. Describing climate change and environmental mismanagement as “risk multipliers”, he explained that last year, climate-related disasters displaced more than 30 million people and that 90 per cent of refugees come from countries least able to adapt to the climate crisis. Many of these refugees are hosted by States also suffering the impacts of climate change, “compounding the challenge for host communities and national budgets”, Mr. Guterres told ambassadors, adding that the COVID pandemic is also undermining governments’ ability to respond to climate disasters and build resilience. Prioritizing actions Maintaining that “it is not too late to act”, the top UN official highlighted three “absolute priorities”, beginning with capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. To avert catastrophic climate impacts, he urged all Member States to up their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – plans through which countries commit to increasingly ambitious climate action – before COP26 and to translate those commitments into “concrete and immediate action”. “Collectively, we need a 45 per cent cut in global emissions by 2030”, he said. ‘Forgotten half’ To address the dire impacts of climate disruption, Mr. Guterres stressed the need for adaptation and resilience, which he maintained requires committing at least half of global climate finance to build resilience and support adaptation. “We simply cannot achieve our shared climate goals – nor achieve hope for lasting peace and security – if resilience and adaptation continue to be the forgotten half of the climate equation”, he said. Mutual reinforcement Climate adaptation and peacebuilding “can and should reinforce each other”, he said, highlighting cross-border projects in West and Central Africa that have “enabled dialogue and promoted more transparent management of scarce natural resources”. And noting that “women and girls face severe risks from both climate change and conflict”, he underscored the importance of their “meaningful participation and leadership” to bring “sustainable results that benefit more people”. The UN is integrating climate risks into conflict prevention, peacebuilding initiatives and its political analysis, the Secretary-General explained. “The Climate Security Mechanism is supporting field missions, country teams and regional and sub-regional organizations…[and] work is gaining traction in countries and regions where the Security Council has recognized that climate and ecological change are undermining stability”, he said. Treading lightly Acknowledging that 80 per cent of the UN’s own carbon emissions come from its six largest peacekeeping operations, Mr. Guterres said the Organization had to do better. He assured that the UN is working on new approaches to shift to renewable energy producers, which will continue “beyond the lifetime of our missions”. “We are all part of the solution. Let us all work together to mitigate and adapt to climate disruption to build peaceful and resilient societies”, concluded the Secretary-General. Moment to act Chairing the meeting, Ireland's Prime Minister, Micheál Martin underscored the importance for the 15-member body to take a greater role in climate assessment and mitigation, including through peacekeeping operations and mandates. “People affected by climate change-driven conflict depend on this Council for leadership”, he said. “Now is the moment for the Council to act”. Source: news.un.org

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order (EO) transferring the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Department of Finance (DOF). EO 148, signed by Duterte on Tuesday, transfers the PCIC from the DA and attaches it to the DOF for “policy and program coordination, and general supervision.” The PCIC, which provides insurance protection to farmers against losses arising from natural disasters, plant diseases, and pest infestation, is currently attached to the DA pursuant to EO 74 issued in 2002. The DOF is the agency primarily responsible for ensuring the sound and efficient management of the financial resources of the government, its subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities, and is mandated to formulate, institutionalize, and administer fiscal policies in coordination with other concerned subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities of government. "In order for the PCIC to effectively perform its mandate of providing insurance protection to farmers in the most cost-efficient manner, there is a need to align its plans and programs with national development policies and the government's overall fiscal plan," the EO read. This transfer was recommended by DOF, DA, and to Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) to ensure that the operations of the PCIC are rationalized and monitored centrally so that government assets and resources are used effectively, and the government's exposure to all forms of liabilities including subsidies is warranted and incurred through prudent measures. "A modernized agriculture founded on social equity is one of the key components of the government's national agenda for poverty alleviation and national development," the EO added. EO 148 also reorganizes the PCIC Board of Directors. Under the order, the PCIC board will be chaired by the Finance Secretary while Agriculture Secretary will sit as vice-chair. Members include the presidents of the PCIC, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Government Service Insurance System, representatives from the private insurance industry, and subsistence farmer's sector. (PNA) Source: pna.gov.ph

Typhoon Conson (locally known as Jolina), the 13th named storm of the 2021 Pacific typhoon season, has caused severe damages after making multiple landfalls and dumping heavy rains in parts of Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. It made 8 landfalls within the PAR where the 1st landfall occurred in the vicinity of Hernani, Eastern Samar on Sep 6, 2021 while the 8th landfall was in San Juan, Batangas on Sep 8, 2021, leaving 20 casualties and a total of Php 1.60B worth of damages to structures and agriculture. (Sources: PAGASA, NDRRMC, as at 17 September 2021)

As risk managers, re/insurers and investors, the insurance industry plays a key role in supporting the transition to a resilient net-zero emissions economy. The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) is an Alliance formed by a group of leading insurance and reinsurance companies, under the auspices of the UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) initiative, the largest collaboration between the UN and the global insurance industry. NZIA members commit to individually transition their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, in order to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The NZIA was launched at the G20 Climate Summit in Venice in July 2021 by its founding members: AXA (founding NZIA Chair), Allianz, Aviva, Generali, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group. On 6 September 2021, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), in collaboration with the UN-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), also announced the launch of a working group comprising leading insurance and reinsurance companies to develop the first global standard to measure and disclose insured greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This will help re/insurers understand the climate impact of their underwriting decisions, laying the foundation to decarbonise their insurance and reinsurance portfolios through target setting, scenario analysis, strategy development, and individually taking concrete actions that have real-world impact through emissions reduction in the real economy. This global virtual event will address these topics while gathering experts in climate as well as industry practitioners who will unpack the concept of net-zero insurance. Register for this free global event and download the programme.

The Insurance Commission is allowing insurers, reinsurers and mutual benefit associations to invest in foreign-currency-denominated debt and equities securities. Only foreign currencies acceptable to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilippinas as part of its international reserves are allowed. This loosening of investment rules was announced by Insurance Commissioner Dennis B Funa in a circular dated 10 September that widens the investment channel for (re)insurers. Also allowed as investments are: Collective Investment Schemes (i.e. mutual funds, unit investment trust funds, exchange traded funds, REITs, etc ) provided, however, that the underlying basket is fully or substantially composed of fixed-income securities or, when the basket is composed of equity securities, it must be that of a broad-market index; certain unrated financial instruments; below investment grade and unrated financial instruments not guaranteed by any third party entity, subject to the approval of the Insurance Commission. For derivatives, aside from swaps and forwards, the IC has added options and futures as allowable instruments so local insurers can hedge risks from their foreign currency-denominated assets. Mr Funa said that the investment vehicles, which are subject to the prior approval of the Insurance Commission, will help insurance companies in risk diversification, hedging and improving portfolio liquidity. This will also allow life and non-life insurers to sell foreign currency-denominated insurance products to their policyholders. The circular also sets out caps on investments in the various financial instruments. Source: asiainsurancereview.com