MicroEnsure Philippines strengthens services with Grepalife, Malayan Insurance

MicroEnsure Philippines, the country's only insurance company hailed for its focus and dedication to the poor, strengthens its services today.

This, as MicroEnsure Philippine officials firmed up its partnership with Great Pacific Life Assurance Corporation (GREPALIFE), a domestic life insurance corporation and Malayan Insurance Company.

MicroEnsure Philippines and GREPALIFE in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) are out to offer a wider range of insurance services and under the MOA, underwriters for MicroEnsure Philippines' life insurance products.

To note, MicroEnsure Philippines and GREPALIFE have been partners in helping alleviate poverty since December 2008.

Today's MOA signing represented by GREPALIFE president Victor Quisumbing establishes MicroEnsure Philippine's role in arranging, soliciting, procuring and/or negotiating the making of insurance programs exclusively for GREPALIFE. MicroEnsure Philippines will also administer the plan which includes the enrolment of all eligible members to claims processing.

Malayan Insurance Company for its part will be MicroEnsure Philippines' underwriter for non-life products such as property and crops. The company has consistently led non-life insurers in the country with the company having worked with MicroEnsure Philippines in the launching of weather index products in 2009.

In behalf of company president Yvonne Yuchengco, Malayan Insurance Company will be represented by Frank Dagohoy, Assistant Vice President and Regional Head for Visayas and Mindanao.

MicroEnsure Philippines is headed by William Martirez. Among the program partners are Taytay sa Kauswagan Incorporated (TSKI) and Kauswagan Bank, Inc.

MicroEnsure was honored as 2009 Financial Times Sustainable Banking Award winner. International news wires reported the awards as then organized by the Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced at a ceremony in London. The event was attended by more than 250 international senior bankers and decision makers in the field of sustainability.

"MicroEnsure was selected from 165 entries from 117 institutions in 42 countries entered in five award categories. The judges in the Achievement in Basic Needs Financing category were looking for innovative programmes with significant social, environmental, and financial benefits that can be replicated in the developing world," the Financial Times reported. "The MicroEnsure submission was based on its pioneering development of weather index crop insurance in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. 70% of the global poor are rural and agriculture is a mainstay of rural livelihoods. Smallholder farmers in the developing world often find it difficult or impossible to access credit because lenders view them as too high risk. Weather index crop insurance provides a safety net that protects farmers from the financial risks associated with adverse weather conditions such as drought, excess water, or even typhoons. But it has the benefit of enabling secure extension of credit for the purchase of quality farm inputs such as drought-resistant seed and fertilizer.

There are also social benefits including higher living standards, opportunities for saving, and better education. MicroEnsure has piloted crop insurance schemes in Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, India, and the Philippines, covering a variety of crops including rice, maize, and tomatoes. The aim now is to continue geographical expansion, cover a wider range of crops, and achieve significant global scale."