Robredo asks life insurers to help ensure inclusive growth in PH

MANILA -- Vice President Maria Leonora Robredo urged Philippine life insurance players to help the government in ensuring that disaster victims get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.

During the 66th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. (PLIA) in Makati City Tuesday night, Robredo said industry players have to maximize the opportunities to make insurance more inclusive.

”For you, my suggestion is to make insurance more inclusive. Inclusivity is the anti-thesis to the global challenge of rising inequality, the most stretched out challenge of our time,” she said in her speech.

The life insurance industry has hardly penetrated the country’s population, with the 2012 figures at about 1.42 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), she said.

This, as the volume of the population that cannot afford to pay for life insurance remain high, she said.

Citing results of a study, Robredo said “building nations where everyone can live and thrive and enjoy the benefits of economic growth is the best way to create more growth.”

“Inclusive growth is not just critical for most in the fringes of the society that we have vowed to serve but also for your businesses to grow sustainably. Profit is now no longer the sole driver of growth, shared value is,” she stressed.

Robredo said including the poor as among the corporates’ target market creates the situation of a shared value.

“And when there is shared value progress happens at the top and at the bottom of society at the same time. Now, more than in any other time in our history our country needs growth for all, not just for a select few. Now more than ever corporations need to create business models that address social needs. Progress that benefits only the elite is no progress at all,” she said.

Robredo said the economy can harvest the fruit of being in a demographic sweet spot if even the poor benefits from economic expansion.

She said life insurance companies can contribute in addressing the problem by rethinking of ways how to reach the poor and these measures include introduction of more accessible, more affordable and less complicated microinsurance products.

She also noted that companies need to be sustainable for them to cater to more poor people, pointing out that “after all insurance is a business made of trust.”

“Failures, closures and ability to service claims, even fraud kill the trust of the public and bear down the resources of government,” she added.