The Insurance Commission (IC) is planning to issue rules governing the mandatory insurance for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The regulator is considering launching pilot schemes in certain regions for this, insurance commissioner Reynaldo A Regalado told the local media. The regions are Asia, the Middle East and North America.
“We’re preparing the proper circular, but we’re coordinating with the department of migrant workers (DMW) on the manner in which we’ll be executing this (to ensure they do not violate) not only of our law, but also the laws and rules of the host country,” Mr Regalado said. The IC will have to coordinate too with the department of foreign affairs.
He said that the rules have to take account of a law allowing insurance companies to sell policies only to Filipinos in the Philippines.
“We cannot remove that. We have to see how best we can have that implemented. There must be some way, even prior to entering a foreign country,” Mr Regalado said.
DMW statistics indicate that there were about 2.33m OFWs as of 2023.