Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa announced the results of the 2018 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) assessment among 116 insurance companies and MBAs composed of 30 life insurance companies, 56 non-life insurance companies, and 14 MBAs and 16 Microinsurance-MBAs. Results showed that the insurance industry gathered an average score of 41.34 points. This is a 1.61-point increase from the 2017 result.
In line with this, Commissioner Funa said in a statement, “This shows that there is a continuous improvement in the performance of the life insurance, non-life insurance, and MBA sectors since the adoption of the ACGS in 2015.” He added that the insurance industry showed an average increase of 2.28 points for four years.
MiMAP (RIMANSI) is proud that two of its members—CARD MBA and Kasagana-Ka MBA—ranked 1st and 3rd respectively among the mutual benefit associations in the Philippines. The top 4 MBAs received scores ranging from 80.60 points to 71.60 points. In 2017, KMBA ranked 9th overall among insurance companies and MBAs.
The ACGS is an instrument utilized to guide companies in the ASEAN bloc on how they should operate. It is developed as an assessment tool based on publicly available information and international benchmarks like that of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This scorecard also acts as a way for potential investors to measure companies in regard to their investment-practices. To formalize the policy of the IC to improve corporate governance in the insurance industry, Circular Letter No. 14-2013 was issued mandating all insurance companies and MBAs to adopt the ACGS and enjoining covered companies to develop their company websites and post their responses to the ACGS questionnaire with supporting documents.
The Institute of Corporate Directors (lCD) was accredited by the lC to conduct the yearly assessment of the covered companies. Commissioner Funa lauded the insurance industry for the improvement in the average score garnered for the 2018 assessment.
“l would like to commend the insurance industry for the increase in the ACGS average score which serves as a testament to the commitment of the insurance industry to improve its governance practices. While this is a notable accomplishment, the insurance industry’s average score it is still considered low in comparison with the banking sector. This should be taken as an opportunity for them to review their current governance practices for further improvement, including the utilization of technology, and a challenge to ensure that their corporate governance practices are at par with regional standards,” said Commissioner Funa.
Among the areas that need to be improved, the 2018 report identified the need for special attention on the disclosure of corporate governance-related documents including Notice of Annual Stockholders/General Meeting, Minutes of Annual Stockholders/General Meeting, and Annual Reports with sections on suitability.