CEBU CITY – Key players in the micro-insurance industry in the Philippines recently benefited from a workshop conducted by the German Technology Corp. (GTZ) aimed at strengthening the sector in the country.

Through its Micro-insurance Innovations Program for Social Security (MIPSS), GTZ in partnership with the Department of Finance-National Credit Council introduced the operational 2009-2010 work plan to promote and further develop the micro-insurance industry.

MIPSS is a development cooperation project between the Republic of the Philippines and the Federal Republic of Germany "to improve the protection from risks of the poor people of the Philippines." According to GTZ, MIPSS targets to develop a national concept on micro-insurance in the context of social protection; develop a national strategy on consumer education and financial literacy; and create a handbook and training manual on consumer education and protection, among others.

The workshop gathered representatives from regulatory agencies like the Insurance Commission (IC), Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, Cooperative Development Authority, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, while the private sector, represented were the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association, the Philippine Life Insurers Association, the Cooperative Insurance Society represented by CLIMBS and CISP, micro-insurance resource centers like RAMANSI, the Butuan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Micro-insurance Agency of the Philippines.