Gov’t, private sectors set to kick-start insurance program for MSMEs
- John Eric Mendoza
- Jan 31, 2018
- 2 min read
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) could soon avail of an insurance product that would help MSMEs to recover, should a natural or manmade disaster affect their business, government and private sector officials announced in a press briefing last week.
Officials announced the ongoing development of micro disaster risk insurance (MicroDRI), prompted by the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, otherwise known as Super Typhoon Yolanda, in 2013. MicroDRI will be available to the MSMEs in the middle of the year.
The officials hold back more specific details of the product, but assuring the public that it would be made affordable to the initial number of 10,000 MSMEs in the country.
The project was made possible by the cooperation of the following government and private sectors: the German government’s GIZ Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Cebuana Lhullier, and AXA Philippines.
The MicroDRI product in progress will be formally launched and introduced by MSMEs through DTI’s assistance.
While AXA is in charge of the design of micro SME insurance product and will serve as insurer of the product, which will then be made available to MSMEs through Cebuana Lhuillier’s nationwide network, which already covers up to eight million Filipinos through microinsurance.
Meanwhile, DTI Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya admitted that the department was “not very keen” in prioritizing MSME resiliency at first, noting that they prioritize the stabilizing the prices of basic goods and commodities instead.
DTI Undersecretary said that only a small number of businesses renewed their business permits in 2014 after Yolanda.
“Even before, I would say the DTI was just more into price stabilization after a disaster hits. Because after a disaster hits, everything and everybody else is back and up in business. After Haiyan, it took six months for business to stand back up again,” Maglaya said.
“You can just imagine how many of those who couldn’t go back to their businesses. This [product] is supposed to prepare us while we’re on the right mind,” she added.