At the EAIC general business meeting yesterday, the executive committee announced the new executive board for the period of 2022 to 2024. The board comprises: Outgoing executive board president Allan Santos announced Hong Kong as the 30th EAIC in 2024 at the meeting. Hong Kong Federation of Insurers chief executive Selina Lau thanked the board for the hosting opportunity and also announced the territory's commitment to making the next edition of the EAIC a face-to-face event. Mr. Santos also announced that the 31st EAIC will be held in Tokyo in 2026, which will mark the return of the Congress to its founding city. Source: asiainsurancereview.com

ACCELERATING INSURANCE PENETRATION & FINANCIAL INCLUSION The Digital Pilipinas, event organizer of "Insuretech Summit" is inviting member companies to attend its webinar. The webinar will focus on INSURETECH - and you will learn more about how you can play a greater role in teching up the Philippines and the ASEAN. Our PIRA Executive Director, Mr. Michael F. Rellosa will be one of the panelists during the said webinar. To register, please click here or scan the QR code provided in the attached brochure.

The Philippine Catastrophe Insurance Facility (PCIF) reached a milestone last Friday, September 16, 2022 with the convening of the first assembly of participating companies to the facility. The face-to-face event was held at Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific (IIAP) with top officers present from the Insurance Commission, National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines (Nat Re) and the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers’ Association (PIRA). IC Deputy Commissioner Erickson H. Balmes delivered the opening address via zoom acknowledging the significance of the PCIF in ensuring the Philippines’ sustainable catastrophe protection. The creation of the Oversight Committee to the PCIF was formally established during the event with the election and announcement of the members of the committee. Tasked to oversee the effective implementation of the facility, the Oversight Committee will, among its responsibilities, aim to ensure the prompt settlement of accounts such as premiums, claims and reinsurance recoveries and that the facility is operated professionally. Last year, the IC, Nat Re and PIRA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) committing to collaborate on the establishment of the PCIF. Regarded as the Philippines’ first private sector-led catastrophe insurance facility designed to heighten the country’s financial resilience against natural disasters, PCIF aims to create a more risk-appropriate rating environment that would ensure sustainable catastrophe premium rates and provide the public wider access to catastrophe insurance protection. IC Commissioner Funa said that the non-life insurance industry plays a vital role in ensuring the Philippines’ catastrophe resilience and in bridging the catastrophe insurance gap needed to urgently address the country’s vulnerability to the onslaught of natural calamities. With the PCIF in place, communities, businesses and even households can hasten their recovery after large losses arising from catastrophic events such as typhoons and earthquakes. L-R (top row) 1. Hon. Erickson H. Balmes - on screen 2. Sherwin Parungao 3.Darius de Guzman 4. Romy Corral 5. Judeus Mandap 6. Herminio P. Villamayor, Jr. 7. Edgardo D. Rosario 8. Arturo B. Reyes 9. Romeo Arzadon 10.Antonio Quianzon 11. Redel Reveche (front row) 1. Cherry Lorenzo 2. David P. Mercado, Jr. 3. David Motley 4. Sharon Marjorie Navarro 5.Allan R. Santos 6. Rogelio J. Concepcion 7. Alan Valenzuela 8. Nestor Liwanag 9. Noly Gallozo 10. Michael F. Rellosa (Rebecca de la Cruz -not in photo)

You finally have comprehensive insurance for your car to financially protect you from any unfortunate accident and damage you might experience on the road. However, having a comprehensive car insurance does not fully guarantee that all mishaps will be covered – especially when reasons for damage include reckless driving, or driving without reasonable caution. Suppose that you file a claim with your insurance provider concerning a minor vehicle misfortune. You wait for a few days, and you get denied. What might have caused the denial in your claim? Don’t be surprised – there are actually a lot of possible factors. 1. Your Premiums are Unpaid You didn’t notice, but you have an ongoing outstanding balance with your insurer, and you technically haven’t paid for your policy yet. Non-payment is generally the reason for your denial. In worst case scenarios, non-payment of your policy within the reasonable period set by the insurance contract caused your policy to lapse. 2. Exclusions and Lack of Coverage Your claim is surely to get denied if the cause of the mishap or the nature of the accident is part of your policy exclusion or is not included in your coverage. In example, you might have gotten comprehensive car insurance for your office car or business car used for your deliveries. In the event that a mishap happens, and the nature of the car use is for a personal party or isn’t business-related, your claim can fully be denied. 3. Illegal Driving Driving with no license or driving with an expired license can get your claim cancelled, should a misfortune on the road occur. Driving under the influence, beating the red light, swerving, and/or over speeding are also included in the reasons for rejection. There are many possible reasons as to why your car insurance claim got denied by your provider. Most of the time, they are technical – but are all included in the policy. Make sure to always read, understand, and double check with your agent in order to fully comprehend the details of your car insurance. Sources: https://www.eclathealth.com/blog/denials-management-six-reasons-why-your-claims-are-denied https://ichoose.ph/blogs/insurance-claim-rejected/

On behalf of ARWC Chair Zainudin Ishak and AIEC Chair Michael (Mitch) Rellosa, we would like to thank you for your continuing support to the ARP Training Programme 2022. There has been a change in the schedule for DAI's Life and Health Reinsurance. It has been moved to 25 October 2022. Since it will be for 7 hours, there will be two sessions, 25 and 26 October 2022. Further information regarding registration will be shared with us by DAI. As soon as we get the information, we will post through the AIC social media. We would also like to inform you that the ARP Capstone Programme, originally scheduled on 26, 27, 29 & 30 September 2022, was cancelled by SCI a month before the schedule due to insufficient number of participants. Please email us at Secretariat@aicsec.org if you have any questions. Thank you for your kind attention and support.

The CAT Treaty market continues to shrink and pricier as the following article shows. Hannover Re says trend towards more frequent & costlier Nat CATs to continue In response to elevated losses arising from natural catastrophes, prices for catastrophe covers have risen steadily in recent years, says global giant reinsurer Hannover Re in a statement. With growing prosperity, greater urbanization and progressive climate change, losses from natural catastrophes will likely continue to increase at a disproportionately high rate. Going into 2023, Hannover Re anticipates developments in several key markets for natural catastrophe risks – based on the assumption that there won’t be any further market-changing events this year. Commenting on regional developments, the reinsurer highlights Japan and Australia/New Zealand among other markets. Japan After relatively little change in the 2022 renewals, cedants are expected to restructure certain programmes in 2023 so as to stabilize their total spending on reinsurance after a number of years of gradual rate increases. While inflationary pressure will likely be less on some programmes, many providers have revised their risk assessment after the latest series of typhoons. While Hannover Re expects the upward pressure on rates to be sustained, it will continue with its long-term focused and partnership-based approach. Australia/New Zealand Devastating flooding on a historic scale has hit the Australian market this year. The spring floods in southeast Queensland and coastal areas of New South Wales were the most expensive in the country's history. These events were preceded by a series of significant major losses in prior years. Further material price increases are therefore needed, not least because insurers and reinsurers are well aware of the fact that the region of Australia and New Zealand is particularly susceptible to natural disasters that are accentuated by climate change, such as hail, floods, droughts and bushfires. Related articles: https://www.pirainc.com/post/philippine-catastrophe-insurance-facility-alternative-to-a-shrinking-cat-treaty-market Source: asiainsurancereview.com

Here’s one usual, quick sad story on car insurance: A car owner is speaking to an insurance agent, ready to file a claim. His voice is frantic, irate, and annoyed – he can’t believe that the CTPL policy he paid almost a year ago won’t cover an accidental damage to his car. But the agent doesn’t even have to consult a superior. The answer is a fast no. Mandated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) of the Philippines, a compulsory Third-Party Liability (CTPL) Insurance is a required insurance policy during one’s annual motor vehicle registration. The main purpose of CTPL is to ensure the safety of the general public against possible dangers caused by motor vehicles on the road. As the name suggests, the CTPL policy only concerns the third-parties, meaning all other persons affected, excluding the passengers. Chapter VI, Section 373c of the Insurance Code of the Philippines define “third party” as follows: “THIRD PARTY shall refer to any person other than a PASSENGER as defined in the law and shall also exclude a member of the household, or a member of the family within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity of the vehicle owner, or his employee in respect to death, bodily injury, or damage to property arising out of and in the course of employment.” This clarifies: contrary to common and popular misunderstanding, CTPL will not cover losses or damages to the insured vehicle. The policy also cannot be upgraded, customized, or applied for an addendum because the maximum coverage claimable under CTPL is a fixed Php 100,000. This amount compensates for treatment for bodily injury, disablement, or death of the affected third party. The Compulsory Third-Party Liability (CTPL) insurance is a mandate to enable security and certainty to public pedestrians in case any untoward incident involving motor vehicles occur on the road. It is not a substitute for comprehensive car insurance, which is an extensive option a car owner also must consider. Sources: https://lawphilreviewer.wordpress.com/tag/insurance-code-chapter-vi-compulsory-motor-vehicle-liability-insurance/ https://kwik.insure/kwik-hub/car-insurance/the-difference-between-ctpl-and-comprehensive-car-insurance

Zurich, 12 September 2022 – PERILS, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has today announced the expansion of its market coverage to include exposure and event loss data for European floods. The new service is in addition to PERILS’ windstorm coverage in Europe and covers Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The expanded coverage means that data for industry-wide property sums insured exposed to flood in the listed countries are available in the PERILS database. PERILS’ industry loss reporting service for Europe will also now include loss reporting for both wind and flood events that generate industry losses of EUR 500m or higher. In line with the PERILS methodology, the flood market exposures and event losses are based on data collected directly from participating insurers at CRESTA zone and property line of business level. The resulting industry exposure database (IED) and event losses can be used for a range of applications, including risk assessment and structuring of triggers for industry loss-based risk transfer products, as well as catastrophe risk model validation. PERILS has also announced that it has raised the loss capturing thresholds for extratropical windstorm and flood in Europe to EUR 500m from EUR 200m for pan-European industry losses and to EUR 300m for industry losses in an individual country. For natural catastrophe events in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan, the loss capturing thresholds remain unchanged at AUD 500m, NZD 300m, CAD 300m and JPY 100bn, respectively. The adjustment in the thresholds is driven by organic market growth and claims inflation over the last 13 years since PERILS was established. Commenting on the expansion, Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, said: "The inclusion of European flood marks the achievement of another of our targets for 2022, following the addition of wind and flood for Japan in June. We thank the European insurance industry for their strong support which has made this possible. Access to data on current and past exposures and losses is key to understanding natural catastrophe risk, yet in the past, reliable, consistent loss information has been largely unavailable. Since 2009, through the application of our systematic, ground-up data approach and with the continuous backing of the insurance market, PERILS has worked to address this critical data shortfall, and we are incredibly proud of the advances we have made during this period." On the loss capturing threshold, Dalida Bachmann, Head of Client Relationship at PERILS, explained: "Our decision to adjust the capture threshold reflects the significant growth of insurance exposures in Europe over the last 13 years. By setting the threshold at EUR 500m for pan-European events and EUR 300m for individual countries, we believe this achieves the correct balance between ensuring we continue to provide relevant event loss data while also ensuring the reporting requirements for our data providing insurance companies are not overly burdensome.” About PERILS PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and event loss data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. The database contains industry property sums insured and event loss information on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. PERILS industry loss estimates provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS). The service currently covers the following 18 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In addition, PERILS industry exposure data are available for Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The use of PERILS exposure and loss data other than in conjunction with a valid PERILS License and according to its terms, by a Licensee or an Authorized User as defined in the License, is illegal and expressly forbidden. Source: perils.org

Decision makers from non-life insurance companies in the Philippines are set to gather for the Philippine Insurtech Conference on 12 September at the Makati Diamond Residences in the City of Makati. According to the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) which is organizing the event, the industry's decision makers are all excited to discuss the latest innovations that are disrupting or about to disrupt the way they do business. PIRA Executive Director Michael Rellosa said the conference will serve as the 8th PIRA Stakeholders Convention, an event the association holds every year for its members and industry partners. Among the topics lined up for the conference are the following: 1. Innovation and Regulation – How does a company stay innovative and flexible in a highly regulated marketplace? 2. Selling Change – How can a conservative industry soften its rigid ways of thinking and get organizations on-board to do business differently? 3. Digital Agents – What will the role of intermediaries be in the Digital Age? 4. Predictive KYC – How can analytics make a company know its customers better and understand their risks? 5. Breaking the Code – How can companies leverage on technology to make their customers understand the jargons and technical aspects of insurance? REGISTER HERE: https://www.pirainc.com/insurtech-conference-2019 For direct concerns, please e-mail your message to pira@pirainc.com.ph or mserrano@pirainc.com.ph. You may also contact the PIRA Secretariat at 811-45-87.

Thirty years ago today, the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century took place. What once was only a fearful thought of a worst-case scenario came into being, and with it – tragedy. It has been a long time but the memories remain in the minds of the people who lived to tell the tale. It was a time when there was still no easy access to the Internet, no connections to other data sets or scientists other than by telephone, and no sophisticated equipment that could help with the detection of activities beneath Mt. Pinatubo. Early suspicions came from Catholic nuns living near the volcano in July 1990, when a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck about 100 kilometers northeast of Pinatubo. The nuns saw steam billowing from the ground and felt small earthquakes near the volcano. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco Together with some members of an Aeta tribe, the nuns traveled to Manila to communicate their observations to volcanologist Dr. Ray Punongbayan, then the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Punongbayan relayed these observations to his friend, Dr. Chris Newhall, also a volcanologist then with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). But Newhall couldn’t be sure that these signs would escalate to an eruption. Although it grew quiet after its July 1990 outburst, the volcanic unrest began again in April of 1991, with a series of small steam explosions. Volcanologists are first to admit that forecasting what a volcano would do next is always a challenge. In late May, the number of seismic events under the volcano fluctuated from day to day. Trends in rate and character of seismicity, earthquake hypocenter locations, or other measured parameters were not conclusive in forecasting an eruption. Beginning June 6, a swarm of progressively shallower volcano-tectonic earthquakes accompanied by inflationary tilt (the “puffing up” of the volcano) on the upper east flank of the mountain, culminated in the extrusion of a small lava dome, and continuous low-level ash emission. On June 7, the first magma came out of the ground, but the flow was only a trickle and it was not explosive. Early June 10, in the face of a growing dome, increasing ash emission, and worrisome seismicity, 15,000 nonessential personnel and dependents were evacuated by road from Clark to Subic Bay. By then, almost all aircraft had been removed from Clark and local residents had evacuated. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco Then, on June 12, Philippines Independence Day, Pinatubo began releasing its payload. The volcano’s first spectacular eruption sent an ash column 19 kilometers into the air. Additional explosions occurred overnight and the morning of June 13. When even more highly gas-charged magma reached Pinatubo's surface on June 15, the volcano exploded. Huge avalanches of searing hot ash, gas, and pumice fragments, called pyroclastic flows, roared down the flanks of Pinatubo, filling once-deep valleys with fresh volcanic deposits as much as 200 meters thick. As though the huge volcanic eruption was not enough, Typhoon Diding moved ashore at the same time with rain and high winds. It resulted in ashfall being brought not only to areas that expected it, but also many areas (including Manila and Subic Bay) that did not. Most of the deaths (more than 840 people) and injuries from the eruption were from the collapse of roofs under wet heavy ash. Many of these roof failures would not have occurred if there had been no typhoon. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco PINATUBO MEMORIES The memories of the many events that unfolded during this calamity remain fresh and painful for many people. Levy Laus, the late president of Corporate Guarantee and Insurance Company based in Pampanga, shared his recollection of this event before his death in 2019. Many evacuees took shelter in his gasoline station and they took out his hose to help motorists with their wipers. His people had reported that three of his buildings collapsed (Carworld Dau branch, Tire City and Megamotors) so he drove to Dau to check the damage. "The ashfall was so thick and the headlights of cars could not penetrate the darkness. He heard the rumbling sound at the bridge over Abacan River at the North Luzon Expressway but didn’t know what it was because it was so dark. He was going to go back from Dau but someone stopped the car at the same bridge and warned him against proceeding. The vehicle in front of him went ahead and the Abacan River washed away the bridge with that vehicle on it and several more. “Had I been a little reckless I would have suffered the same fate,” said Laus. He later learned that the vehicle that went down into the Abacan River had a doctor and his entire family in it and that they all perished. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco Diosdado “Deng” Pangilinan was with fellow journalists when the first eruption happened on June 12. They were young and reckless and enthusiastic for a potential scoop so they decided to stay despite the danger and fear. They began to get more scared when it got dark and started raining because the water was warm and dirty. The hot pyroclastic materials that the morning’s eruption had deposited on the slopes were being remobilized by the rain and flooded the riverbed where they were. Their jeep had barely reached the higher ground when the first of Pinatubo's lahar carrying boulders and fallen logs swept everything in its path. In the morning, the river was still swollen, so they abandoned the jeep and crossed the waist-deep water. Then Pinatubo erupted again and to their horror, the eruption cloud was rapidly heading towards them. They were certain they would be suffocated by the ashfall but miraculously, the wind blew the ash cloud in the opposite direction, towards Zambales. Guy “Indra” Hilbero, a former Mabalacat tourism officer, shared that when media reported that thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of Kapampangans had started to abandon their homes on June 15 in an exodus to nowhere, Metro-Manila mayors took pity and sent buses to pick them up. There were no policemen around, no barangay or town officials to direct the people to the buses. The group he was in, Kabataang Bagong Silang, divided the buses into north-bound and south-bound and guided the people to them accordingly. He had heard from a couple in search of gasoline for their jeep that the chapel in barangay Lakandula in Dau had collapsed, pinning several people to death. He went there and saw bodies in the rubble. A few were still alive, so he took them to the nearest hospital. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco According to a Protestant pastor, during the climactic eruption on June 15, a group of Aetas perished because they could not read the signboards on the trucks and buses that had been sent to evacuate them. A few days before the eruption, a convoy of trucks and buses came to pick up Aetas from their villages. Since they could not read, they didn’t know which vehicle to board so they boarded vehicles at random and were ordered to go down and look for the vehicles assigned to them. They were eventually left behind so they decided to just return to the mountain and seek refuge in a cave saying that their god Apu Namalyari would spare them. A Korean pastor went to them and tried convincing them to evacuate and they agreed to leave the next morning. They spent the night in the cave, on the eve of Pinatubo’s cataclysmic eruption. Tragically, pyroclastic flows buried them while they slept inside the cave. Cecile Yumul of DZFA shared they had advised listeners to stay home and clean their roofs to prevent them from collapsing. When they heard that Abacan Bridge was in danger of being swept away by the river, they immediately proceeded there. It was only 3 p.m. but already as dark as night. They could hear the deep rumbling of the approaching lahar flows, which were also causing the ground to shake. Thousands of people were fleeing yet the bridges were down and the roads were clogged with heavy traffic—not to mention the continuous rain of sand, rocks, and mud and it was hard to breathe because the sulfuric ash fall burned their lungs. It was a terrible moment for everyone. Elmer of GV-FM shared that their radio station went off the air during the climactic eruption because the heavy ashfall would damage the power generators. He was stranded in Dau until evening. There was a tearful lady who wanted to return home to Angeles but there were no jeepneys, so he suggested that they walk together towards Angeles. Abacan Bridge had fallen, however, so they ended up taking shelter inside a big house along Friendship highway with several other strangers that the owners had let in, too. When dawn came, the entire Angeles City downtown was covered with mud, boulders, logs, and volcanic debris that had overflowed from Sapang Balen. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco STORIES OF HOPE Although there were many stories of terror, hopelessness, and despair from people’s recollection of these events, there were also stories of hope in our capacity to care for others in the face of adversity. In an account of the Bulacan Historian Ernesto Florentino, there was a rumor that Mt. Arayat, which is close to Bulacan, would also erupt. Photo courtesy of Robby Tantingco It was the day Kapampangans were dispersed from their homeland in massive numbers. It was an opportunity for the people in Bulacan to return the favor to the Kapampangans who once rescued Tagalogs fleeing from the British Occupation in 1762. Kapampangan evacuees from Sasmuan, Betis, Guagua, San Fernando and Bacolor, as well as Aetas, took shelter in Pulilan and Plaridel. Tagalogs who once derided them as vain and arrogant, went out to care for them. There were so many Kapampangan evacuees that the Poblacion was transformed into a Little Pampanga. Two weeks after the eruption, before returning to their province, these Kapampangans held a thanksgiving program for the people of Pulilan. Some families chose to stay in Pulilan and Plaridel as well as Calumpit and Malolos. They may not be pleasant, but may we continue to remember these events for our fallen brothers and sisters, for those who lived but are forever scarred, and for the future generation who we can hope would be guided by these lessons to do better and be much more prepared for future calamities. -- Alyanna Tabucanon SOURCES: https://www.usgs.gov/news/remembering-mount-pinatubo-25-years-ago-mitigating-crisis https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/benchmarks-june-15-1991-mount-pinatubo-erupts/ https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157860428258204&id=522578203 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157858236233204&id=522578203 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157856852178204&id=522578203 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157855286053204&id=522578203 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157848962998204&id=522578203 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157850937423204&id=522578203