THE Insurance Commission (IC) has issued guidelines that will govern the sale of insurance products through the Internet, to ensure that the rights of policyholders are protected amid the faster way of transacting business with insurers online.
Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel F. Dooc issued Circular Letter 2014-47 to implement the provisions of the amended Insurance Code allowing insurance policies to be sold online and to be in electronic form.
Section 50 of the amended Insurance Code allows that insurance policies may be in electronic form, subject to the pertinent provisions of the E-Commerce Act, and rules and regulations that are issued by the insurance commissioner.
The guidelines enumerated the principles of good business practice that insurers offering products online should observe.
These principles focus on ensuring that insurers provide their prospective clients with adequate and accurate information regarding the insurance products sold online.
“Consumers who participate in electronic commerce should be afforded a level of transparent and effective consumer protection that is not less than that afforded in other forms of commerce,” the circular said.
“Insurance providers engaged in electronic commerce with consumers should provide accurate and easily accessible information describing the insurance product or services offered, sufficient to enable consumers to make an informed decision about whether to enter into the transaction and in a manner that makes it possible for consumers to maintain an adequate record of such information,” it said.
Dooc cited the new guidelines as one of the achievements of the IC in 2014, which could increase the penetration rate of insurance in the country because of the easier way of marketing and selling insurance products.
“More important, the year 2014 saw the steadfast regulation and supervision of the Insurance Commission.
The promulgation of Republic Act 10607, otherwise known as the Insurance Code, as amended in 2013, provided the legal groundwork for the implementation of insurance guidelines, most notably on the registration and operation of self-regulatory organizations, electronic commerce of insurance products, and the new fees and charges,” Dooc said in his year-end report for 2014.