Aiding the Disaster Recovery Process: The Effectiveness of Service Provider’s Response to Typhoon Haiyan

This paper aims to understand how microinsurance service providers responded and performed in terms of claim processing and benefits payments in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. It states that the Philippines has the highest insurance penetration in Asia and Oceania, with 19.9 million properties and lives covered by microinsurance, making it a success story. The paper provides a pre-typhoon framework and context for microinsurance. It also examines the disaster recovery management (DRM) systems in place and how they performed during and after the typhoon. It provides recommendations on integrating microinsurance in a disaster recovery management framework. Key recommendations include:

• Find effective means to reach out to rural communities and the marginalized in cities to expand calamity insurance offers and to increase the number of people covered;
• Create more initiatives that assist with rebuilding homes and explore the development of livelihood insurance products and insurance that is not tied to loans;
• Explore industry initiatives for catastrophe insurance to ensure companies can support their risks and also spread the calamity risk over multiple geographical areas to limit the provider’s exposure to large losses;
• Ensure client understanding of exclusions to avoid confusion and consumer protection issues.