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THE
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is baffled by
“misleading figures” perpetuated by some officials of
the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers’ Association (Pira)
regarding reforms in the issuance of the Compulsory
Third Party Liability (CTPL) for motor vehicles.
“I am
saddened that the respectable officers of Pira just
issue irresponsible figures that they cannot justify,”
GSIS president Winston Garcia told a news conference on
Wednesday.
Earlier,
Pira vowed to take the GSIS all the way to the Supreme
Court. Pira wants the Regional Trial Court in Makati to
reconsider its decision dismissing the former’s bid to
bar the GSIS from acting as agent or broker on the CTPL
business. Pira lawyer Jose Roy Jr. also said they have
several options against the GSIS to retain control over
a business that nets P3.5 billion a year.
The CTPL
is a mandatory insurance required before the
registration of motor vehicles. It provides a P100,000
coverage for death or bodily injuries in case of
accidents.
One of
Pira’s arguments against the GSIS’s taking over of the
CTPL insurance business is the massive job loss that
some say will involve as many as 60,000 agents, and the
closing down of many insurance firms.
Garcia
said that according to figures from the latest Insurance
Commission Annual Report for 2006, there are about
10,000 registered insurance agents and 275 general
agents. Commenting on these figures, Garcia said: “We
are wondering where this huge displacement will come
from.”
Furthermore, the report said that total commissions paid
out from the CTPL portfolio amounted to only P164.3
million—or 2.6 percent of the entire insurance business.
When divided among registered agents, this amounts to
P14,433 less earnings on a yearly basis, which according
to GSIS is insufficient to sustain the transportation
expenses of an agent to service the policy to clients.
Garcia
added that the GSIS will farm out 80 percent of the CTPL
business to accredited insurance or reinsurance firms,
and only 20 percent will be handled by the GSIS. This,
he said, debunks the perception that the GSIS intends to
have a monopoly on the CTPL.
“We view
this as a partnership with the insurance companies in
the Philippines, but the face (of CTPL) will be GSIS,”
he said.
Under
the new scheme, private insurance companies will have to
get their accreditation from the GSIS. For the CTPL
policy holders, claims can be made on the GSIS’s 70
offices, or through text or hotline. Garcia added that
37 insurance companies who are members of Pira have
“signed on with us and are willing to participate in our
program.”
Some of
these companies are BPI Mitsu, Pioneer Insurance &
Surety, Sterling Insurance Co., Malayan Insurance,
Equitable Insurance Corporation and Allied Bankers
Insurance.
He said
the new system will be implemented in the coming weeks
and they are currently in the pilot stages. |
