In line with its commitment to being the Tulay ng PaMLyang Pilipino, M Lhuillier Financial Services Inc. has continued to innovate and introduce new products and services that would bring value to Filipinos around the world. s part of this goal, M Lhuillier has diversified into offering reliable insurance plans made more affordable for every Filipino. Its insurance arm, M Lhuillier General Insurance Agency Inc., has partnered with reputable insurance companies such as the Philippine American Life Insurance Company, Paramount Life & General Insurance Corporation, MAA General Assurance Philippines Inc., and PhilLife Financials to bring both life and non-life insurance products to the market. M Lhuillier currently offers five personal accident insurance plans: Pawners Protect, Kwarta Padala Protect, Family Protect, Family Protect Plus, and Pinoy Protect Plus. All these cover accidental death, disablement or dismemberment, and motorcycling accidents with benefits ranging from P20,000 to P30,000, depending on the type of plan.

MANILA – The Insurance Commission (IC) has started the countdown for insurance companies in the country to transition to a new set of accounting policies that will make their financial reports more transparent especially for the investing public and universally comparable. In a webinar on the new accounting system conducted last week, IC Deputy Commissioner Ferdinand George Florendo said insurance companies may start the shift to Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 17 --from the current PFRS 4-- starting January 2023 in time for the industry-wide application in 2025. Florendo said the firms are given enough time to complete the transition as these need to change their data administration, financial presentations, and actuarial calculations.

To encourage banks to dispose bad assets, the BSP streamlined the procedures for application of the certificate of eligibility of NPAs. The BSP, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission would issue the COE for the purpose of obtaining tax exemptions and fee privileges. Aside from banks, entities covered by the law include financing companies, investment houses, lending companies, accredited microfinance non-government organizations, insurance companies, government financial institutions, government owned or controlled corporations, non-stock savings and loan associations, and non-bank credit card issuers.

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Insurers in the Philippines will shift to a more transparent accounting system by 2025 - a change that will require operations, financial reports and actuarial calculations to be reassessed, according to the industry regulator, the Insurance Commission (IC).

MALAYAN INSURANCE Co., Inc., Liberty Insurance Corp. and Prudential Guarantee and Assurance, Inc. have rolled out plans for individuals with trips affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Insurance Commission (IC) said in a statement on Thursday. The IC said the policies offered by these companies include assistance on flight rebooking, airline ticket reimbursements, and hospital cash benefits, among others. “Those interested to avail of COVID-19 insurance coverage may well consider these products offered by the three companies mentioned,” IC Commissioner Dennis B. Funa was quoted as saying. “Our fellow Filipinos may examine these insurance products and avail such products that are most responsive to their needs and the particular COVID-19-related risks they seek protection from,” Mr. Funa added.

INSURERS and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) scored higher in the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) for the year 2019 but the Insurance Commission said there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of disclosure and transparency. The insurance industry and MBAs collectively registered an average ACGS score of 45.9 in 2019, up by 3.36 points from 42.54 in the previous year. The 2019 assessment conducted by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) covered a total of 119 entities regulated by the IC, of which 56 are non-life insurers, 32 are life insurers, and 31 are MBAs. The IC attributed the increase in the total average score to the Commission’s issuance of Circular Letter No. 2021-26 that mandated the creation and maintenance of company websites. However, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa noted that the ICD report for 2019 also revealed the area of Disclosure and Transparency or the disclosure of corporate governance-related documents is of “special concern.”

The insurance industry has been revolutionised through the introduction of insurtech. Reducing the time it takes for customers to be given a response, along with reducing operational costs are only a couple of the many advantages technology in the insurance sector has enabled. An important area that needs to benefit from the introduction of insurtech is regulatory checks as the right technology solution will automate much of the standard checks and business workflows that surround compliance, freeing up time for brokers and insurers to work on their products and ultimately spend more time on their customers.

THE insurance industry in the Philippines is one of the most varied and comprehensive in the Southeast Asian region, and includes not only conventional life and non-life insurance, but also composite companies, pre-need insurers, mutual benefit associations (MBAs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and micro- and macro-insurers. Except for the pre-need segment, which has been gradually shrinking as alternative insurance products are introduced, all of these businesses have enjoyed strong growth in the past decade. Regulatory developments The insurance industry is regulated by the Insurance Commission (IC), which was created by the 1974 Insurance Code of the Philippines. The IC's regulatory responsibilities have expanded over the years along with the growth of the industry that introduced new forms of insurance. In 2009, the Pre-need Code placed pre-need insurance under the IC's authority, while Republic Act (RA) 10607, known as the Amended Insurance Code and signed into law in August 2013, changed a number of key requirements for insurers and further expanded the IC's oversight. In 2015, the regulation and supervision of the country's HMOs was also placed under the IC, by an executive order issued by then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd.

Insurance companies paid out PHP3.89bn ($81m) in claims related to COVID-19 last year, with nearly a third of the amount or PHP1.22bn being death benefits. Health maintenance organisations (HMO), which are regulated by the Insurance Commission, shouldered almost half or PHP1.91bn of the total claims paid during the first full year of the pandemic, reported the Philippine Inquirer.