Nat Re, IC, and PIRA sign MOU on Philippine catastrophe insurance facility

The National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines (Nat Re), the Insurance Commission (IC), and the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers’ Association (PIRA) sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to collaborate towards the implementation of a Philippine Catastrophe Insurance Facility, an initiative that will increase the country’s financial resilience against natural disasters.

Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa (seated, center), Nat Re President/CEO Allan Santos (seated, left), and PIRA Executive Director Michael Rellosa (seated, right) sign the memorandum of understanding pledging to collaborate towards the implementation of a Philippine Catastrophe Insurance Facility. The Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea (standing, center), Deputy Insurance Commissioner Ferdinand Florendo (standing, leftmost), Deputy Commissioner Erickson Balmes (standing, second from left), Deputy Commissioner George Ongkeko (standing, second from right), and Deputy Commissioner Randy Escolango (standing, rightmost) witness the signing.

The proposal is for non-life insurers in the Philippines to cede their catastrophe risks to an insurance pool or facility which will then share the pooled risks back to those companies. Through this arrangement, insurers will be able to more efficiently manage their catastrophe exposures and boost their capacity to take in more catastrophe risks. This will encourage insurers to more actively promote catastrophe insurance thereby providing Filipinos more inclusive access to protection against natural disasters.

“At the core of this initiative is a profound purpose which I hope is what Filipinos will tangibly experience when the facility is put in place,” Nat Re President/CEO Allan Santos said in a statement. “Greater catastrophe protection will allow Filipino households and businesses to get back on their feet more quickly after catastrophic natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.”

Nat Re is a member of the Technical Working Group tasked to spearhead the launch of the facility.