Insurance policyholders will soon have access to free legal assistance when they need to file a claim or complaint related to insurance, pre-need plans, or health maintenance organization (HMO) services.
The Insurance Commission (IC) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) signed a memorandum of agreement that will provide free consultation and representation during mediation, conciliation, and adjudication proceedings to the less privileged Filipinos.
After IC informs a complainant of the available legal remedies, it may proceed to endorse the complainant to the IBP for free legal services, based on the agreement.
The IBP shall then provide legal services, subject to the application of a means and merit test and the availability of volunteer legal aid lawyers.
The agreement will also allow the filing of requests for assistance and formal adjudication cases even without a lawyer, as IC standard procedures already provide for the filing of requests and complaints even without the assistance of counsel.
In 2023, the IC said it resolved all 5,417 informal complaints from the insuring public, pursuant to the mandates of Republic Act No. 11765 or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act.
The said complaints were resolved either through settlement between the complainants and the corresponding IC-regulated entities, or through endorsement of the complaints for formal adjudication.
Based on data from the IC, there had been a 30.77 percent increase in the number of disputed insurance claims decided upon through adjudication in 2023, as compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, a total of 51 formal adjudication cases involving disputes on insurance claims have been decided upon, compared to only 39 cases in 2022.
Pursuant to the Insurance Code, the IC has jurisdiction over disputed insurance claims up to a maximum amount of P5 million.
“We believe that if the insuring public becomes aware that valid insurance claims are paid out promptly, and disputed claims are resolved expeditiously either through the mandated complaints resolution channels of insurance companies, our claims mediation process, or through case adjudication, we will be able to build more trust among the people to take up insurance in preparation for financial ruin in times of loss of life or livelihood,” IC Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado said during the agency’s 75th anniversary celebration.
For Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, a credible insurance industry will encourage “more people to avail themselves of financial protection. That is important to strengthening our people’s financial resilience in the face of so many uncertainties.”
The IC collected P518 million in registration and supervision fees last year, or a 3.83 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, an increase was also noted in the net income of the pre-need industry, which amounted to P2.09 billion in 2023, up by 385 percent from the P429.6 million collected in 2022.