By Herminia S. Jacinto
The Philippine insurance industry celebrated Insurance Consciousness Month during the whole month of October. This celebration was done simultaneously with the other insurance industries in the Asian/Asean region. The purpose of the celebration was to further enhance the appreciation of the insurance industry by its members and customers. The industry associations, the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA) and the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA), lined up various activities like seminars, meetings with regulators, and sports events which were well attended by the many members of the industry. PLIA hosted a seminar on "life goals" in partnership with Mapua University. Both associations sponsored golf tournaments in the Canlubang and Riviera golf clubs for their members and guests. PLIA opened the month-long celebration with basketball and volleyball tournaments at the Assumption College gymnasium. PIRA held seminars on various topics like ESG and sustainability, anticompetitive acts and cartels, corporate governance and cybersecurity, which topics are very timely and relevant to insurance companies' operations now. All these events were intended to support the theme of the celebration, which is "Insurance Consciousness."
Amid all these events came Typhoon Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon, within a week of each other. Both typhoons took many lives and destroyed many properties as well. Upon seeing the destruction and the people climbing rooftops just to be saved, buildings collapsing, and vehicles floating, what immediately came to my mind was — do they have insurance? If yes, are they insured to value and insured for what we call "acts of God" like typhoons and floods? It is a well-known fact that buying insurance covers for properties and vehicles is not top of the mind of the owners of such properties. Insurance covers of mortgaged properties are usually monitored by the lending institutions to protect the amount of the loan only. And more often than not, the insurance covers are handled by the supplier (as in car dealers for vehicles) and the bank so the customer may just assume that the protection is adequate. Individual agents are very good at explaining these details to their customers but I heard that we have less of them now in the nonlife or property and casualty sector of insurance. I admire so much the life insurance agents, or financial advisors as we call them now, because of their personalized approach to the customer. It requires a lot of talent and charisma to make the customers aware of illness and death and convince them to buy an insurance policy. Life insurance agents and their clients become friends even after the sale. Sana all!
It is the responsibility of the insurance companies to hire and train their sales force, which includes the agents, to explain and convince the customer to insure and insure to value their properties. Many property owners need good advice from insurance professionals who can help them assess their insurance requirements. The companies should also do their part in reminding customers about the importance of insuring their properties.
As part of the celebration of Insurance Consciousness Month in October, when many typhoons visit the Philippines, the insurance industry should mount impressive campaigns about the need for insurance protection. The recent activities were mostly addressed to the members of the industry and almost none to the buyers of insurance. It was like preaching to the converted. There is no disagreement that our employees should be knowledgeable and up to date about the business, but let us educate the buyers too. A full-page ad may not be as effective as in the past when people bought and read printed newspapers, but plugs in some popular TV shows may make them more insurance-conscious. Imagine the impact of Luis Manzano or Vice Ganda plugging insurance into their TV programs. In past years, some insurance personalities were invited as guests on popular radio programs where they talked about the importance or need for insurance. Facebook and Instagram are full of reels about people and events. Reels showing the effect of the recent typhoons can be shown but slanted towards the advantage of being protected by insurance. The insurance industry has yet to maximize the use of social media to broadcast its mission — the protection of lives and property.
Source: manilatimes.net
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