The Philippine insurance industry celebrated Insurance Awareness Month throughout the month of October. This celebration took place simultaneously with other insurance sectors in the Asia/Asia region. The aim of the celebration was to further enhance the appreciation of the insurance industry among its members and customers. Industry associations, the Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA) and the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA), organized various activities such as seminars, meetings with regulators and sporting events attended by many industry members. PLIA organized a seminar on “life goals” in partnership with Mapua University. Both associations sponsored golf tournaments at 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 has organized seminars on various topics such as ESG and sustainability, anti-competitive acts and cartels, corporate governance and cybersecurity, topics which are very current and relevant to the operations of insurance companies in today’s times. current. All these events were intended to support the theme of the celebration, which is “Insurance Awareness”.

In the midst of all these events came Typhoon Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon, a week apart. The two typhoons caused numerous casualties and destroyed many properties. Seeing the destruction and people climbing onto roofs just to be saved, buildings collapsing and vehicles floating, what immediately came to mind was: do they have insurance? If so, are they insured for value and insured for what we call “natural disasters” like typhoons and floods? It is a well-known fact that purchasing insurance covers for properties and vehicles is not a priority for owners of such assets. Insurance coverages for mortgaged properties are generally monitored by lending institutions to protect only the loan amount. And most often, insurance coverages are managed by the provider (like at car dealerships) and the bank, so the customer can simply assume that the protection is adequate. Individual agents are very good at explaining these details to their clients, but I’ve heard that we have fewer of them today in the non-life or property and casualty insurance industry. I admire life insurance agents, or financial advisors as they are called today, so much because of their personalized approach to the client. It takes a lot of talent and charisma to educate customers about illness and death and convince them to take out insurance. Life insurance agents and their clients become friends even after the sale. Sana everyone!

It is the responsibility of insurance companies to hire and train their sales force, which includes agents, to explain and convince the customer to insure and insure to value their properties. Many homeowners need good advice from insurance professionals who can help them evaluate their insurance needs. Businesses should also do their part by reminding customers of the importance of insuring their properties.

As part of the celebration of Insurance Awareness Month in October, when many typhoons hit the Philippines, the insurance industry is expected to launch impressive campaigns on the need for insurance protection. Recent activities have been aimed primarily at industry members and almost none at insurance buyers. It was like preaching to the converted. There is no disagreement that our employees should be knowledgeable and knowledgeable about the business, but let’s also educate buyers. A full-page ad may not be as effective as in the past when people bought and read print newspapers, but the airing of some popular television shows may make them more concerned about their insurance. Imagine the impact of Luis Manzano or Vice Ganda incorporating insurance into their television programs. In recent years, some insurance personalities have been guests on popular radio shows where they talk about the importance or necessity of insurance. Facebook and Instagram are full of videos about people and events. Reels showing the effect of recent typhoons can be shown but geared towards the benefit of being protected by insurance. The insurance industry must still maximize the use of social media to disseminate its mission: the protection of lives and property.