The Insurance Commission said Monday it will “definitely” push for the mandatory catastrophe pool insurance that will assist households and small and medium enterprises in times of calamity.
Insurance commissioner Emmanuel Dooc told The Standard he would push for the signing of a draft executive order mandating a compulsory insurance for middle-class residential buildings and SMEs.
“Definitely, yes. I mentioned it to the secretary [of Finance] but he was just listening. I’ll pursue it now that he is in the office,” Dooc told The Standard in a text message.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said he would study the proposal first, when asked about mandatory insurance.
The draft executive order, when signed into law, will require all households and SMEs to get insurance protection from possible damages caused by disasters, such as earthquakes and floods.
Under the proposed catastrophe insurance pool, the pool of insurers will underwrite the policies according to their corresponding subscriptions to the pool, which represent their exposure to the risks undertaken.
The proposed draft EO was recommended by the Finance Department to the Office of the President last year. Former President Benigno Aquino III, however, did not sign the EO.
Dooc said while the EO was the fastest process to implement the insurance pool, the commission was also open to legislative measures.
“The immediate need is for an issuance of an EO to accelerate the process, but in the long term we will need a legislation,” Dooc said.
