Tag: conferences & forums

Latest UpdatesMABS HighlightsMicroinsurance

RBAP-MABS & PLIA hold workshop on performance monitoring of microinsurance for life insurance companies

On May 25, RBAP-MABS, with support from USAID/Philippines and the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA), jointly conducted a microinsurance performance monitoring forum for 43 representatives from 25 of the association’s member companies. The main resource person for the activity was RBAP-MABS Microinsurance Consultant and internationally known expert, Mr. Michael McCord.

The activity built on the significant developments in regulations for microinsurance providers, especially Insurance Memo Circular 05-2011 on the Performance Standards for Microinsurance providers released by the Insurance Commission in January 2011. Core to the discussion was the importance of monitoring financial performance indicators in assessing the sustained viability of microinsurance for commercial life insurance companies. Mr. McCord also stressed that venturing into the business of microinsurance requires a commitment to ensuring that services are delivered in the most efficient and appropriate manner for clients.

The activity concluded with PLIA President George Mercado assuring participants that the association will continue …

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How to Avoid an India-type Microfinance Crisis in the Philippines

As prologue to the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) National Microfinance Stakeholders Summit held on April 5, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) with support from USAID/Philippines and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines (MCPI) jointly held a pre-summit seminar on April 4 discussing “How to Avoid an India-type Microfinance Crisis in the Philippines”.

Opening the forum, RBAP President Corazon Miller described the India microfinance crisis as “a wake-up call for microfinance practitioners in the Philippines to begin the proactive process of strengthening transparency, following consumer protection practices, improving governance, and becoming better at communicating the value of Microfinance services.”

Led by Ms. Elisabeth Rhyne, Managing Director of ACCION International’s Center for Financial Inclusion and organized for the microfinance stakeholders in the Philippines particularly rural banks, NGOs, credit cooperatives and others, the seminar provided interesting discussions on some of the issues …

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MABS TipsMicroinsurance

Options for Microinsurance Sales and Servicing

MABS Microinsurance Coordinator, Ruth Aseron shares lessons learned during the RBAP-MABS Regional Roundtable Conference 2010.

The RBAP-MABS Regional Roundtable Conferences in Manila and Davao each featured a session on Microinsurance that sought to provide participants insights on the various distribution models which rural banks are allowed to adopt.  Presented were perspectives on how rural banks should formalize its microinsurance distribution operations in compliance with the provisions of the National Regulatory Framework and with regulations issued by the Insurance Commission (IC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The session focused especially on Section 6 of the Microinsurance National Regulatory Framework, which provides entities engaged in informal insurance or insurance-like activities three (3) options to formalize their microinsurance operations:

Become an agent or broker of a licensed microinsurance company
Partnering with a third-party broker or agent to offer microinsurance
Join an existing MBA or Cooperative Insurance Society (CIS)
  1. Become an agent
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MABS Tips

The Benefits of the BAP-Credit Bureau for Rural Banks

Getting accurate, timely and objective credit information in a cost efficient way is one of the serious challenges that rural banks with microfinance operations face in making credit decisions.  The long-standing practice of pre-screening a loan application through field information gathering is costly and slow, and delays loan approval process. It is anticipated that a national credit information system mandated by the Credit Information System Act (or CISA) will help in addressing this challenge. However, getting the system up and running may still take sometime.

Meanwhile, rural banks can turn to the existing credit information services offered by the Bankers Association of the Philippines – Credit Bureau Inc. (BAP-CB). During the 53rd RBAP Charter Symposium on October 14-15, 2010 BAP-CB officer Manuel Batallones, reiterated the strong interest of the BAP-CB to support  rural banks’ credit information needs as their way of supporting the rural banks and especially the microfinance sector.  …

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