Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

Insurance in the Philippines

Expats, Philippine Culture / by

I’ve talked a little about insurance in the past on this site, but mostly those articles have been related to health insurance, and medical issues.  The other day, somebody left a comment here on LiP asking about insurance, but instead of health insurance, he was asking about other types of insurance.  He specifically mentioned flood insurance, basic contents insurance and such.

I have had some personal experiences with insurance here, and I thought that this would probably be a good time to share my experiences along these lines.

The person who asked about such insurance is PaulB.  Paul left the following comment on my recent article about Warranties in the Philippines.  Paul wrote:

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the information.
My request is a little along the path from warranty…. Can and does Insurance operate in the Philipinnes! I want to get basic contents, flood insurance for the house we have just built. Any ideas how I go about this,? Who would do you recommend in Davao? If I did get it, would it pay up if required? I think the answer is ” Are you kidding!” but I thought its worth a comment…..

I offered this reply to Paul:

Hi PaulB – I am going to do something on this comment that I have never done before… I am going to specifically NOT answer your question. The reason is because what you are asking is too complicated to put in a comment. I need to write an article about this, and I will do that soon. So, tune in again, and I will write an article in the next 2 weeks answering your question about insurance, and my experience with insurance in the Philippines.

The reason that I did not answer Paul’s query in the comments was several fold:

  1. Not all readers of the site read all of the comments, especially on an article that is a few days old already.  Since this is an important topic, I wanted to give the topic a little more proper venue than in a comment, a place where everybody interested would see that the information is available.
  2. The topic is a little complicated, and perhaps too long-winded for just a comment, and actually deserves fuller coverage in the way of an article.
  3. I felt that the topic of Insurance was quite different from the topic of the previous article – Warranties, so I decided to make it a new article altogether.

As I said earlier in this article, I have indeed had experience with insurance here in the Philippines.  When living in the West, in the USA for me, it is the common practice to have insurance on practically everything you own.  It is just part of our western culture to carry such insurance.  Here in the Philippines, most people do not carry insurance on many of the things that a westerner would normally insure.

Car insurance is mandated by law here, however, the amount of insurance that you must carry is very small.  In the past, I carried full insurance on my vehicle.  However, as my car is now over 10 years old, I no longer carry such full coverage insurance.  I go with the minimal insurance that is required when you register your vehicle.  I personally would recommend getting full coverage if your vehicle is relatively new, perhaps newer than 5 or 6 years old.

As a renter, we do not need to worry about homeowner’s insurance, that is the responsibility of the house owner.  So, this is not something that I concern myself with at all.  If you are renting your place of residence, though, the thing you need to think about insuring is your household belongings.  This would include anything in your house – furniture, appliances, whatever is under your roof.  Homeowner’s insurance is readily available here, as is insurance on the contents of your dwelling place.

Other types of insurance are also readily available.  I am sorry, but I do now know about flood insurance, though.

Now, let me relate my experience with insurance, and you can decide what kinds of coverage you should have, based on my experience.

In 2000, we moved to General Santos City.  One thing we found there was that we experienced earthquakes on a fairly regular basis.  We had contents insurance on our goods, but that insurance did not cover earthquake damage.  If you wanted earthquakes to be covered, you needed to buy a separate rider for your insurance policy to cover any damages from earthquakes.  Upon consideration, Feyma and I decided that it would be a good idea to purchase an earthquake rider for our policy, so we inquired with an insurance agent that we knew.  I do not recall the price of the earthquake coverage, nor does Feyma, but I have it in my mind that it cost us about P15,000 in 2000, which at that time was roughly $375.

On New Years morning, 2002, at about 5am, we were shaken from our sleep by a 7.2 Magnitude quake in General Santos City.  It was a real shaker!  I have experienced many earthquakes in my life (I’ve lived in California and other earthquake prone areas), but never one of this size.  I honestly thought at the time that we may die in the quake!  As it turned out, thankfully, we all lived through the quake, but there was substantial damage to much of our belongings in the house.  Things like bookshelves, cabinets and such were almost all shaken to the point that they fell over.  Dishes fell from the cupboards.  Many things were broken.

After everything calmed down, the cleanup effort began.  Mostly it was a matter of picking things up, putting them back in place and such.  I told Feyma to contact the insurance agent so that we could find out what to do in relation to our insurance coverage.  The agent told Feyma to gather any broken items into one place so that they could be inspected and a claim made.  So, this is what we did.  The agent was supposed to come and visit our house to check on the damage.

Notice I said “supposed to”.  Well, she never came.  We went to the office and some papers were filled out, but that was the end of it.  Nothing was ever paid to us.  No further contact came from anybody in the insurance company, except for frequent inquiries from us, but nothing in return.

This experience turned my mind around about insurance in the Philippines.  I cannot say for sure that this experience is common, or normal, but what I know is that it was my first and only experience with insurance in the Philippines.  After this, we have pretty much gone with only very minimal insurance at all, and mostly no insurance at all.  Things that must be insured, like the car, have the minimal insurance required.  Other than those minimal policies, I consider myself to be self-insured.  If something is broken or destroyed, we just replace it ourselves.  Is there risk in this?  Sure there is, but life has risk.

So, PaulB, this is my experience with Insurance in the Philippines.  Your experiences may vary from this, and I wish you the best of luck in this type of thing.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wow! Sounds like you go ripped off a there Bob. For some strange reason as I read your post here I just had a gut feeling that it would end how it did end. I just really could not for see a happy ending to this post as I started to read it. So much for insurance in the Phillipines.

  2. Hey Bob- last year I shipped 3 pallets/skids of household items from Canada to Davao in a shared container. When the items arrived some had been crushed- and it was obvious from the outside before the boxes were even opened.
    I contacted the local shipping company- who told me that they would check into it- and then who ignored my next 5-6 emails. After about 3 months they told me they were waiting for advice from Singapore. Well, that was a year ago, and as far as i know they are still waiting. I have long since thrown the damaged items away.
    As you know I recently had a Bachelor Express bus run into my suv. I was warned by my lawyer that Bachelor would make my claim as hard to make as possible. ie 3 estimates from different body shops, stencils of the serial number from engine compartment, etc He told me that he has been travelling to General Santos regularly for the last 12 years for another case against Bachelor! In the end, Bachelor advised me that they did not carry insurance , and that the driver would have to pay for the damages himself. However, they did say that they would pay me for the repairs if they were very low, and the driver could pay through payroll deduction. I had the driver on the phone to me almost crying about how he couldnt feed his family if the bus company took all of his wages.

    • Hi ian- You have had some bad experiences with insurance, as I have. I have had one traffic accident since living here, and I got rear-ended by a company delivery truck here in Davao. I got the same sob story from the driver that you got from the bus driver. I chased after the company for months, but finally just paid myself. What a rip off.

  3. Hi Bob,

    I was not surprised by the response of your insurance company. There is no penalty to them for not paying as the threat of a lawsuit is laughable. I think this article will make people more aware that there is a little bad to go along with the good of the Philippines.

    • Hi Tom – Without a doubt there is good and bad to living in the Philippines. I find that I enjoy life here very much, but there are also some bad things from time to time. Of course, in the States or anywhere else there are bad things too, though.

      • Bob:

        Of course here in Florida, the insurance companies have compartmentalized their “Florida only” subsidiaries in such a way that if any major disaster ever happened the subsidiary would be bankrupt. It will then fall to the State (tax payers) to step in and pay the claims (pay themselves). There is just no attempt to cover it up there.

  4. We have comprehensive insurance on our car (2004 Honda CRV, insurance from Honda). The insurance has paid off with NO problem after every accident or need to use it (kids “keying” our car), three times in all. As of now, we are money ahead in having the insurance, plus the peace of mind. The only thing not covered, obviously, is the “make this problem go away” money when a 15 year old with no helmet, no licence, and no registration on his motorcycle crashed into the back of our car. We are VERY satisfied so far. Here’s hoping.

    We also have home insurance via MetroBank. So far, thank ????, we have not had to try to collect. But MetroBank in Dipolog has given us such good service that we are hopeful.

    BTW, why not have comprehensive insurance on older cars? Each year the premium has been reduced (now 18k). And no matter how old, the damage has to be repaired.

    Does anyone know about or have experience with HEALTH insurance for ex pats here?

    • Hi Don – I’m glad that your experiences have been good, and I hope they continue to be!

      For info on health insurance, my friend Dave just had a nice article about that on his PhilFAQs blog. If you haven’t visited Dave’s site lately, go give it a look. I recently re-designed it for him, and I think it turned out pretty nice looking! 😀

    • Hi Prof Don,
      Health Insurance has recently been discussed on the LiP forum.
      To save you a visit,lol,checkout http://www.bluecross.com.ph and look at the Peso Plans.
      For the over 65s they do the Premier Plan.
      I have no experience with this company,neither am i affiliated to it in anyway.
      regards,Chas.

  5. Hi Bob;
    As my car is a 1996, I do the same as you for insurance. My friend has a new car and full coverage, he was hit 3 days after buying the car, and paid to repair it him self, the reason for that was the repairs were less than the deductible. And the other driver went on the lamb, and could not be found even though my friend had the tag number. In Puerto Rico when I lost my bar to Hurricane Hugo, that Company said it was an “Act of God” and not covered. Don’t bother asking the church to pay, I tried and they said no. So like you said, here I’m self insured and just pay to fix anything that is damaged by “Act’s of God”, or poor drivers. Insurance in the Philippines? You’ll have better luck at Casino Filipino.

      • Ha Ha Bob;
        Do you think they need more income? If you lose at the tables, I think that is also an “Act of God”, Hmmm maybe insurance is a good fit for them.

        • Hi Paul – I like the way you are looking at this… basically anything that costs you money is an act of God…. it’s a good way to live, thinking like that… eliminates a lot of stress!

  6. Hi Bob,
    Not that i have any personal experience of Phils Ins Co’s,i did do a fair ammount of research a few years back.
    http://www.malayan.com the oldest established non life Ins Co in the Phils (80yrs),do a Home Protect Plus plan which covers all sorts of home incidents including flood/fire and earthquake etc.This plan also includes Family Hospitalization cover where they pay fixed daily ammounts towards hospitalization costs.
    I do know of some expats who have made claims against this company with no problems,albeit only so far on the hospitalization side of this particular policy.Others,i believe, have had successful claims for motor/motorcycle accident damage with this company.
    They have a branch office on JP Laurel Ave,Lanang,Davao City,might be worth checking out for those interested in Insurance.
    regards,Chas.

  7. hey Bob,
    Heaven help you if a Kano is at fault and hits a Filipino in their car. I have heard horror stories about how the insurance company doesn’t pay, or they try to get more than the insurance is worth etc. I even heard a story from my work mate (a Filipino) here in SoCal who told me about how he had to pay for somebodys chicken that wondered into the road there.

          • If you hit a dog, the 25 owners will all want you to pay them, again follow Bob’s advice; Drive on! Chickens are fair game.

            • I would guess anything that is bumper height and below is “Fair Game”…ducks, small goats, pigs, dogs…

              • Guys;
                Over here in Florida we have a better selection if road kill Racoons.armadillos,possums,snakes squirrels,dogs, cats,turtles and
                ex-wives. Heck if you look hard enough we may even have a cook book on Florida Roadkill. 🙂
                Heck if you drive around at night over here you find the chinese cooks fighting the vultures of the stuff. LOL Makes you want to eat at a chinese buffet. YUM YUM!!

  8. Bob;
    Read the post by dave at PhilFAQ and he’s right health insurance is a must.
    All the other insurances in the Philippines is like you said virtually non existant.
    Reckon all they do is protect the companies in the way of just dragging things out till you just get tired of it. In the case of auto insurance if you get into an accident your better of with a lawyer than an insurance comp. OH yea better have a jar of vaseoline ready. 🙂
    I’m getting some health insurance for her older sisters through the Philippine Gov like dave
    explained. Just had an emergency with her sister cost us over $1000.00. I’m not very good in math but $27.00 per year for Gov Insurance vs. $1000.00 per emergency. No Brainer

    • hi just was reading about insurance ,we just completed a small house 126 sq mtre in Cebu ,for parents ,we need to insure ,here we usually insure for replacement cost plus contents ,so would appreciate name of reputable company and contacts e mail or fax ,also what the story on health insurance at $27 us dollars ,many thanks , we have just suffersd 7.1 earthquake here in NEW ZEALAND ,about 4 billion dollars in damages ,so i am very sensitive about insurance and the need ,about 5%here were not covered when this 7.1 struct and have been over 200 after shocks ,very frightening for population of Christchurch city nz ,here if you have insurance polocy the government have a earthquake policy and all citizens pay into this ,at the time im writing this the fund is 6 billion dollars ,so thank god we have the dollars for rebuilding ,but the damage is shocking and people are tramatised ,cant sleep due to hundreds of after shocks ,but the great thing is happened at 4.30 am and no deaths ,amazing

      • Hi dealer – Congrats on your new house! That’s great. As for recommending an insurance company… if you read of my insurance experiences in the article you probably won’t want a recommendation!

        I heard about that NZ quake… I have some business clients in NZ who told me about it. Not good! But, I’m glad there were no deaths.

  10. Hi Bob is it possible to buy a hard copy of your book ’49 ways to make a living in the Philippines’

  11. Hi, so when i be moving to philippines and get a motorcycle or car do i need to have insurense? i was talking before to some pinoy guy that have a motorcycle and he didn t know about insurance? he say you don’t need to have insurance in philippines.
    thanks

  12. thanks bob for your kind and gracious heart….talking about insurance?its just a piece of joke, coz insurance is murder for me!

  13. In the USA when I have home insurance, if there is any catastrophe the insurer will come very quickly, provide you with immediate relief funds for temporary housing, food etc., and you will receive a check within a very short time to either fix or buy a new home. In the Philippines, you can NOT depend upon this kind of service. It is non- existent. The people who live here never complain about the injustices they suffer and therefore, life goes on where the very rich do well and the great majority suffer in dumb silence. Filipinos, although good people, have developed a style of living which allows them to remain sane. They IGNORE everything and do not think too much about being thoughtful to other people. It isn’t that they are bad folks, but thinking is painful for them and they do better when they do not pay attention to problems. Simple things like respecting your space, not being too noisy, standing in your way when you try to go down stairs, walking in the mall blocking your way as they crawl at a snail pace making it impossible to pass left or right. On and on these poor habits/thoughtless behaviors continue. They simply do NOT pay attention to anything because that could become painful. Ignorance is bliss is their motto and that is why things rarely change. The air here is so filthy that every taxi driver suffers from COPD, (pulmonary disorder). All that is required is to enforce clean air/pollution laws which will never happen. Men peeing in the streets while people walk by is an addiction. Making lady boys stars who are received as special people instead of seeing the sickness of their ways. I have lived here for 3 years and it has become tiresome dealing with miserable hygiene and backward ways. They still haven’t learned to sanitize a table at a restaurant after it is being used. The cockroach problem is never addressed seriously by using traps, etc.. Holes in streets that you can get killed in by just walking are left in disrepair. Yet, they say that the economy of the Philippines is doing so well which is so bogus. Those that are doing well are just a sad few. Politicians receive ridiculously high salaries as compared to US politicians. It goes on and on. I look back at the US a 100 years ago and it is more modern than the Philippines.
    As for buying insurance for the home to protect your home in case of catastrophe, it seems self evident you are just tossing away your money in advance. I was planning to buy a home here, but after the earthquake, I realized I would have NO protection. Why do I want to stay here? Breathing the air here is guaranteed to reduce your life expectancy by ten years or more. I see rats the size of cats running around in the most modern malls they have here. Change requires the people to demand change and the Filipino, by their nature will NEVER express their dissatisfaction with the status quo.
    The people are decent and I love their smile. Too much slime, dirt, poverty, corruption and ignoring the problems/accepting the problems is guaranteed to keep things the same.

    • Hi Rich – One thing is important to remember when you live in the Philippines – We are not in the USA anymore. Making comparisons is of no help. It is best for your own personal enjoyment to make a decision to either:

      1. Stop complaining and accept the Philippines as it is.
      2. Make the decision that the Philippines is not for you and move back to the States.

      Once you face up to it and decide, you will be happier whichever choice you make.

      Good luck to you.

  14. Hello Bob, great resource for info.
    I am looking at getting two types of insurance. Health and contents. The contents insurance is mostly for electronic items such as phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc. However, I do not have receipts for most of these items as they are old.
    Can you offer advice on any companies or policies I can obtain? I searched online, but the companies I found had terrible websites and didnt give me much confidence.
    The other idea I was toying with was getting all insurance via the bank I use so that if anything happens, I have extra weight and can threaten to close all my accounts and terminate all policies I have with them.

    Thank you

    • Hello Dave – The experience I have with Philippine Insurance companies has been quite negative, thus I would not care to make any recommendations.

      Good luck to you, though.

  15. G’day Bob,
    I have lived in the Philippines for many years and had write offs. Damage, Theft< Fire etc.
    Insurance companies have bee difficult in their Low offers. They value your vehicle for say P400,000 and charge the premium for that but only want to pay half on a total loss.
    Good thin the Philippines has an Isurance Ombudsman. Their office is UN Ave Manila.
    Each time I have been there I have won my case and the Ins. Co has paid up, including the one alluded to regards eathquake damage.
    The process is very fast with the Ombudsman and is usually settled within 3 months.
    I am not a sure if all kinds of insurance are handled there but he is called the Insurance Ombudsman, not the Motor Ins Ombudsman.
    They are far quicker to reach a decision than any other Philippine Institution.
    Indeed far quicker that in most other countries I'd suggest
    If you have a problem go there. Once a decision is made you'll have your check in 2 or 3 weeks.