IC, OWWA, POEA to conduct insurance seminars for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - The Insurance Commission, along with other government agencies, has agreed to coordinate on the provision of seminars and modules to better inform agency-hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) of their compulsory insurance coverage before they depart from the country.

The insurance regulator recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to incorporate information about the Agency-Hired OFW Compulsory Insurance (AHOCI) into the pre-departure orientation seminars of OFWs.

Insurance commissioner Dennis Funa, OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac and POEA administrator Dominador Say signed the MOU during the anniversary celebration of the IC.

Under the MOU, the IC would provide the OWWA and the POEA with a module on the AHOCI, which would be included into the pre-departure seminars to OFWs.

The IC would also hold seminars on the coverage and benefits of AHOCI to frontline personnel and newly hired employees of OWWA and POEA, as well as the speakers and lecturers involved in the pre-employment or departure seminars.

OWWA and POEA, for their part, should also distribute pamphlets about AHOCI provided by the IC.

The MOU further states that the three agencies should “promote the awareness of OFWs, their beneficiaries and the general public on the coverage and benefits of the AHOCI.”

A review of the sub-module on the AHOCI should also be done as necessary to correspond to the changes in the global environment and the needs of OFWs.

The IC, OWWA and POEA would designate a focal person who would be responsible in coordinating the activities involved in incorporating the AHOCI module to the seminars.

Section 37 of Republic Act 8042, as amended by RA 10022, provides that each migrant worker deployed by a recruitment or manning agency should be covered by a compulsory insurance policy which should be secured at no cost to the said worker.

Under the law, the AHOCI covers a $10,000 benefit payable to the OFW’s beneficiaries in case of accidental death, $7,500 disability benefit and repatriation costs of the worker when their employment is terminated without valid cause, among others.

“Only reputable private insurance companies duly registered with the IC, which are in existence and operational for P500 million to be determined by the IC, and with a current year certificate of authority shall be qualified to provide for the worker’s insurance coverage,” the law further states.