COTABATO, Philippines — On 16 October 2019 at 7:37 PM (local time), a magnitude 6.3 earthquake rocked the province of Cotabato and its vicinity. According to PHIVOLCS, the epicenter was located 23 km southeast of the municipality of Tulunan in North Cotabato with a 9 kilometer depth of focus. Minutes after the quake, a fire incident occurred at Gaisano Mall in General Santos City. According to the latest situational report released by NDRRMC, a total of 870 aftershocks with 7 casualties and 7,089 damaged infrastructures were documented after the said event. The agency has not yet released any damage cost estimate as of this writing. Click here for the full report.

The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) has partnered with the Earth Security Group (ESG) in a pioneering effort to develop so-called ecosystem-based adaptation in the country. A report launched recently by the (ESG) documented a series of platforms it has developed over the past two years in collaboration with local action partners, to enable the private sector to play a greater role in scaling ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). ESG’s new report entitled "Private Sector Collaboration for Climate Resilience: Catalysing Partnerships for Ecosystem-based Adaptation in the Philippines" highlights three platforms developed as part of Earth Security Group’s Action Lab programme. In the insurance platform, the ESG has begun working with PIRA to embed EbA in the Philippines’ insurance sector. An Insurance Task Force for EbA’ bringing together leading insurance and reinsurance companies and government decision-makers in the Philippines will develop new pathways to integrate the protection value of natural ecosystems into the definition of risk models and new product portfolios based on EbA. PIRA Executive Director Michael F. Rellosa said "Integrating ecosystem-based adaption in the insurance industry is a way to enhance the sector’s positive impact while expanding the portfolio of products in the market." "The Earth Security Group’s project has been instrumental in creating this awareness, which in our sector is very low, and bring together players that can contribute to innovative solutions," he said. The second platform features the ESG working with the Philippines Business for Environment (PBE) is identifying the collaboration mechanisms that can enable companies, investment funds, civil society and government agencies to work together to align their resources on opportunities to scale results-based Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes in line with the government’s natural conservation management priorities. The third platform, meanwhile, involves the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) establishing a Climate Resilience Lab to incubate EbA projects generated by MBA students and implemented with local governments. In addition, the AIM-ESG partnership actively works together with 10 to 15 local government executives in municipalities that are most exposed to the risks of climate change, with a bespoke executive programme that forges private-public partnerships for EbA with participating companies to build the resilience of cities and local populations through infrastructure and value chain investments that support ecosystem regeneration. Over the next two years, Earth Security Group and its action partners will continue developing these partnership programmes. The project is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The Earth Security Group's press release on this can be accessed through this link.

September 12, 2019| Makati Diamond Residences The Philippine Insurtech Conference, as the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association's (PIRA) 8th Stakeholders convention, will gather the non-life insurance industry's top executives to discuss present and future trends that are disrupting or about to disrupt the way they do business.   We have assembled a lineup of speakers who are authorities and thought leaders in the world of insure tech. We expect them to provide cutting-edge insights on how Philippine-based companies could leverage on insure tech and grow their business. EVENT VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Full download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QcGjo7E0BBCWKNxvVo2hagEECrQ3im0J/view?usp=sharing

June 14, 2019 | Riviera Golf Club Silang, Cavite This is an annual golf tournament organized by the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) to promote collaboration, cooperation and friendly competition among executives of the Philippine non-life insurance industry.   The 6th PIRA Networking Golf Tournament held on 14 June 2019 at the Couples Course of The Riviera Golf Club in Silang, Cavite.   Major sponsors of the event are Maxicare Healthcare, National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines, and the Philippine Accident Management and Insurance Agency (PAMI). Hole sponsors are ARB Insurance Brokers, Bankers Assurance, Computer Professionals Inc, Grupo Ceguro, New India Insurance, NTTDAata, Stronghold Insurance, and UCPB General Insurance.

The  PIRA Technical Sub-Committee on Motor Car Insurance had a Courtesy Call with the new Deputy Insurance Commissioner for Technical Matters, Mr. George S. Ongkeko, Jr.,  and Ms. Chona Cortez of  IC Rating Division on 7 May 2019 at the IC Executive Lounge. The following present are:  Messrs. Arturo B. Reyes, Chairman Motor Car Technical Sub-Committee, and Members:  Messrs. Reynaldo B. Fong, Danilo B. Bariring, Cleto D. Obello, Jr., Atty. Leo-Jon P. Ramos, Christopher Y. Marquez, Ms. Vilma D. Dollentas and Jaycee Dela Cruz, together with Michael F. Rellosa (Executive Director), Rogelio J. Concepcion (General Manager) and Ms. Agnes Silaya (Accounting Manager). The Motor Car Technical Sub-Committee introduced itself, its mandate and its members and had a short briefing with Deputy Commissioner George Ongkeko, Jr. on the following pending items with the Insurance Commission. As requested by the Insurance Commissioner, the IC-PIRA Technical Working Group (TWG) on Risk Evaluation, Pricing and Rating (composed of IC Representatives and PIRA Technical Sub-Committee members on Motor Car) have reviewed the Motor Car Rates and discussed the following recommendations in a series of meetings in 2018 based on the Industry Motor Car Insurance Statistics covering 2011-2016 from the IC Annual Report. 1)    Recommended Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability (CMVL) Rates and Schedule of Indemnities (PIRA Letter to IC dated 27 Dec. 2018) PIRA submitted its position letter to IC dated 27 December 2018 with the proposal to increase the CMVL coverage for Death  from P100,000 to P200,000 with adjustment of Schedule of  Indemnity and with the corresponding adjustment in the premium rates. 2)   Proposed Premium Rates Schedule for Motor Car (PIRA letter to IC dated 6 May 2019) PIRA also submitted its position letter to IC dated 6 May 2019 for the proposed increase of premiums for Voluntary Third Party Liability and others. B)  New Proposal for COC Authentication Facility (LTO/Dermalog/IC/PIRA/OICP) For info and guidance on how to go about the new proposal for COC Authentication Facility as there was a draft MOA (presented by LTO)  on the Motor Car Compulsory Third  Party Liability authentication facility to be signed by the Insurance Commission and the Land Transportation Office, which PIRA already sent comments to IC on this matter. This was supposed to be launched on 22 April 2019 however it was deferred and still for review of the Insurance Commission.  PIRA will await for further instruction/guidance from the IC on this. Deputy Commissioner Ongkeko, Jr. suggested to take this up in the IC-PIRA Dialogue.  Based on his observation, he suggested that the two (2) organizations, PIRA and OICP should  maintain the database not the Insurance Commission and IC can only just  to supervise the system due to lack of manpower and capability to maintain the system. C)  Proposed Enhancement of Statistical Reporting Format on Motor Car Insurance Lines to form part of the IC Annual Report to be required from members. Deputy Commissioner Ongkeko, Jr. requested the Committee to give him time to study the matters and the IC will schedule for another meeting to explore and study the proposals of the Committee. The Motor Car Technical Sub-Committee members expressed their appreciation and support to the new Deputy Insurance Commissioner for Technical Matters, Mr. George Ongkeko, Jr.

Book Launching “THE BUSINESS OF RISK AND INSURANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES” by Dr. Pedro P. Benedicto, Jr. “THE BUSINESS OF RISK AND INSURANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES” is a comprehensive book on insurance written by Dr. Pedro P. Benedicto, Jr. which he hopes will help the reader to understand how insurance companies operate and create value. The book aims to help insurance professionals deepen their knowledge and encourage them to do their own research and contribute to this body of knowledge. This book is designed as a reference for practitioners and the academe. PIRA is the Publisher and Exclusive Distributor of the book, For those who are interested, you may obtain copy/s of the book at the PIRA office or may be delivered to your office located within Metro Manila area.

The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) is urging all non-life insurance companies in the country to make use of the new Motor Claims Information System (MCIS) to address the growing problem of insurance fraud. PIRA released this week an infographic that gives five compelling reasons why insurance companies should support the new MCIS. These five reasons are: Insurance fraud is on the rise. Insurance companies cannot solve insurance fraud alone.PIRA protects all data submitted to the MCIS.More users will make the MCIS work better, andThe data submitted to the MCIS will help PIRA develop better rates for motor car insurance. The idea of creating the MCIS was born in 1996 to detect multiple claims on carnap and total loss vehicles and address cases of duplicate claims, meaning the same car making similar claims from two or more insurance companies. The first version of the system was purely manual in nature, with companies submitting via fax. The system evolved into a second version in 2005 that made use of the Internet. Now on its third version, the MCIS is purely cloud-based and accepts data submission 24/7. It accepts data related to all kinds of motor car claims which can be uploaded either one-by-one or by batch. And it matches these data and tells the concerned PIRA members if there are duplication in claims, carnap and total loss cases on record.  It will be beneficial in analysis and proper pricing of motor business using aggregated data submitted by participating members. PIRA Executive Director Michael Rellosa said almost half of PIRA's 60 member companies have already expressed support to the new MCIS. He said the system is continuously being improved to match the needs of PIRA members.