I AND many others have written about how insurance is a tool for sustainability and survival, as it allows one to pick up the pieces and carry on after a disaster or some other insured event. What I want to bring to the fore is what the government can do to make it easier for the insured to afford and avail themselves of insurance.

In a recent article in another newspaper, the former SSS president and insurance commissioner lawyer Manny Dooc underscored the need for the country to rationalize its taxes especially for micro-insurance. This is in line with the government's aim to protect the poor and vulnerable groups. The current tax structure however puts a damper on this, as it effectively makes even micro-insurance unaffordable for those who really need it. This move also supports what the insurance industry has been trying to communicate for the past five administrations either through position papers and during public hearings at both houses of Congress — the fact that insurance in the Philippines for all classes of insurance, micro and traditional, are one of the highest in the world and is a major barrier for its development as a tool for sustainability and survival.