Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno asked the Insurance Commission to explore new initiatives to promote trust and transparency in financial products and encourage the public to invest in financial protection.
“I expect the officials of the Insurance Commission to continue exploring new initiatives to properly perform its mandate which is to protect the financial consumers of the insurance, pre-need and HMO industries”, Diokno said during the IC’s 74th anniversary on Feb. 17 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Diokno urged the commission to issue the implementing rules and regulations of the Financial Consumer Protection Act to increase the consuming public’s trust in the insurance, pre-need and health maintenance organization industries by equipping all relevant government institutions and financial regulators with the legal authority to enforce prudent, responsible and customer-centric standards of business conduct.
He also called for the regular review and assessment of pertinent statutory provisions and IC-issued implementing rules and guidelines so that operations are at par with international standards and globally accepted best practices.
Diokno reminded the commission to remain vigilant and ensure the fairness of premiums collected. “These products involve computations that are not readily clear to the public. It is our responsibility to ensure that products sold to our consumers are fair and truly protect them,” he said.
Diokno also encouraged the commission to implement digital transformation initiatives that make financial products transparent and accessible to the consuming public to achieve greater financial inclusion in the country.
The Philippine insurance sector managed to thrive despite the global health emergency that threatened the economy.
Data showed that in the third quarter of 2022, the HMO industry’s total assets grew 8.6 percent year-on-year to P56 billion. Total revenues and total capital stock also increased in the third quarter by 8.5 percent and 44.6 percent, respectively.
The delivery of healthcare benefits and claims by HMOs went up 35.9 percent as of end-September 2022 to P31.93 billion.
“These accomplishments attest to the industry’s resilience under the Commission. The Marcos administration envisions a society that is prosperous, resilient, and fair. This requires trust and transparency,” Diokno said.
