Pension fund to build up public insurance and enhance disaster resilience thru a joint project
The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held the GSIS-JICA Technical Cooperation Project Kick-Off meeting. In the photo are Amor Rollyn Dais, Asset Registry Division, Bureau of the Treasury (BTR); Shannen Chua, BTR; Vice President Rosanna “Bo” Sanchez, Insurance Group, GSIS; OIC Dir John Adrian Narag, International Finance Policy Office, BTR; SVP Valerie Marquez, Insurance Group, GSIS; AEVP Jason Teng, Core Business Sector, GSIS; Dir Takehiro Kido, JICA; Senior Rep Masanari Yanagiuchi, JICA Phil Ofc.; 2nd Secretary Kensuke SUGIMOTO, Japanese Embassy; and Takeshi Kuwabara, JICA Expert team.
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is teaming up with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in a new technical agreement with the Japanese government through the newly launched Technical Cooperation Project (TCP), which aims to enlist specialists to help the pension fund grow its insurance business and continue to safeguard civil servants and government assets.
“This joint effort is not just about protecting the future of government assets. With a robust insurance framework, this collaborative mission is a pro-active approach in demonstrating the GSIS commitment to building a stronger and safer nation through sustainable infrastructure practices,” said GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso.
PGM Wick Veloso and JICA Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema signed the agreement in November last year.
JICA is an implementing agency of Japanese official development aid (ODA) for the purpose of supporting the socio-economic development, recovery or economic stability of developing regions. Through this collaboration, the Philippines continues to achieve sustainable development in the transport sector, while providing additional lift for the administration’s Build Better More infrastructure initiatives.
The Technical Cooperation Project is designed to enhance GSIS’ underwriting capabilities, improve the capacity of its Insurance Group to calculate replacement costs and establish accurate insurance premium rates. This initiative will focus on developing an effective Information and Education Campaign (IEC) strategy to raise public awareness about the importance of insurance.
Following the kickoff meeting, GSIS Core Business Sector Acting Executive Vice President Jason Teng highlighted Japan’s exemplary public insurance system.
“There is a compelling need for us in the GSIS to harness advanced systems and innovative approaches. Consequently, we are very happy and grateful to the Government of Japan and JICA for initiating this project. We believe that we can learn a lot from Japan’s best practices in public insurance and their ability to inculcate widespread consciousness towards insurance among the general public,” said Teng.
In the first quarter of 2024, the GSIS reported a net income of Php37 billion, a 21% increase from its net income of Php30.75 billion in 1Q 2023. The growth in profitability for the 1st quarter 2024 was driven by strong revenues reaching Php85 billion. The state insurer’s total General Insurance Premium Income (year-to-date) amounted to Php2.55 billion, a 27% increase from March 2023.
JICA Insurance Expert Team Lead Mr. Takeshi Kuwabara said, “We believe that this partnership with the Philippine Government opens up new avenues of collaboration. We see that this will help develop the insurance industry in the country and more assets will be protected from catastrophes. This will enable us to integrate Japanese know-how and expertise with the GSIS to help you build its capabilities and processes— creating better products and services to its customers. We are confident that we will help build the initiatives of the government towards a more sustainable Philippines.”
Japan is home to some of the world’s largest insurance companies. It has one of the largest and most mature insurance markets in the world bolstering some of the highest life and non-life premiums written globally. In 2021, the country’s insurance sector accounted for 4.3% of their GDP, nearly triple that of the Philippines. Conversely, the Philippines has a big underdeveloped insurance market with low penetration rate as awareness and affordability continue to challenge the sector.
EVP Teng also declared the successful pilot test of the new GSIS Property Inventory App (PIA). This mobile application automates and digitizes the inventory process for government assets and is expected to significantly aid the government’s Asset Registry Project by making it easier for Property Officers to inventory assets and properties.
Visit the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph and GSIS Facebook page @gsis.ph to know more about the GSIS’s non-life insurance programs.
