Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has urged the Insurance Commission (IC) to issue the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Financial Consumer Protection Act (FCPA) to increase the consuming public’s trust in the insurance, pre-need and health maintenance organization (HMO) industries.
“As the country treads an increasingly uncertain economic landscape, the commission’s regulatory role in ensuring the highest standards and credibility of the insurance, pre-need and HMO sectors is critical. During these perilous times, you must encourage more and more people to avail themselves of financial protection,” Diokno said during the IC’s 74th anniversary held last Friday at the Philippine International Convention Center.
“Admittedly, the element of public trust is important. In order to increase the consuming public’s trust in the insurance, pre-need and HMO industries, I call on the commission to issue its IRR on Republic Act No. 11765, or the FCPA,” he added.
Diokno said the FCPA is envisioned to provide an armor of protection to all financial consumers, ensuring that all relevant government institutions and financial regulators will be fully equipped with the legal authority to enforce prudent, responsible and customer-centric standards of business conduct.
The finance chief also called for the regular review and assessment of all pertinent statutory provisions and commission-issued implementing rules and guidelines so that operations are at par with international standards and globally accepted best practices.
At the same time, he reminded the IC to remain vigilant and ensure the fairness of premiums collected, saying “these products involve computations that are not readily clear to the public. It is our responsibility to ensure that products sold to our consumers are fair and truly protect them.”
In addition, Diokno noted the need to find new ways for the insurance, pre-need and HMO industries to come up with products that will increase their penetration rate.
“To increase the reliability of the insurance, pre-need and HMO industries, I call on the commission to spearhead digital transformation initiatives geared towards making financial products more accessible to the consuming public,” Diokno said.
“With new technologies, we can make our financial services more accessible, more efficient and more innovative. This will be instrumental in achieving greater financial inclusion across the nation,” he added. – Angela Celis
