Who wouldn't know Cebuana here in the Philippines. For most of the Filipinos, Cebuana is a talk about establishment in the country. One reason is that most Pinoys go to Cebuana for the services and programs they offer, what else but microfinance. Yes, and since we're one of the Pinoys who trust Cebuana I was glad that I was invited to personally be part of Cebuana Lhuillier's Culminating Event.

The culminating event was about the One million Filipinos who officially joined the country's rally to be a fully-insured nation as Cebuana Lhuillier – the Philippines' leading microfinancial company-provides free microinsurance through its National Pilipino Protektado Day Campaign.
Helping Filipinos be more disaster-resilient and prepared against various calamities, Cebuana Lhuillier has declared July 21 as the #NationalPilipinoProtektadoDay as part of the company's advocacy to build disaster-resilient communities and help the Insurance Commisiion achieve its vision of protecting 80% of the Filipinos with microinsurance by 2020.

“For the past years, we've been constantly just introducing new and innovative products and services to the public to be able to help them be financially included. This time, with our #NationalPilipinoProtektadoDay campaign, we decided to take a bolder step and took the initiative to really touch ground with those who are most vulnerable to calamities and directly offer them free microinsurance as a new way for them to be secured,” Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Herni Lhuillier said.

In partnership with Pioneer Insurance and with the help of various public and private organizations, free microinsurance were given out across the Philippines, prioritizing the most vulnerable communities, families and individuals from the marginalized sector.

I agree on this advocacy of Cebuana, I personally heard from a friend that they felt secured. They availed one of the services of Cebuana and got insured. Good thing that they were insured because a few months later their house got involved in a fire accident that almost burnt everything they have. Because they were insured they were able to claim from the insurance worth PhP25,000. They are so very thankful because the amount was a big help for them to start and to rebuild their house.
Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions General Manager Jonathan Batangan reiterates that National Pilipino Protektado Day is only one of the company's many endeavors in its push for disaster relience. “National Pilipino Protektado Day is a great milestone in our disaster preparedness campaign. But after insuring one million Filipino, we are on to more initiatives that will help us promote microinsurance and foster disaster resiliency. We are introducing an app, a microinsurance organization, and later on, a website-all designed to ultimately promote the welfare of Filipinos,” he said.

CEBUANA ALERTO APP

Reinforcing its disaster resilience advocacy further, Cebuana Lhuillier has also officially launched Cebuana Alerto app during the culminating event. An android app that harnesses the digital mobile platform, Cebuana Alerto is designed to provide real-time vital information about disasters within the Philippines.
Equipped with an interactive technology that allows users to share updates in areas affected by any disaster, the Cebuana Alerto app features an alert system that sends notifications to the user in the event of disasters such as typhoon, earthquake, fire, and flood. It has live newsfeeds that show the latest updates from third-party government agencies including the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDDRMC) for weather updates, the Department of Education (DEPED) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for school suspension announcements, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for informatioin on traffic and road conditions. It also informs the users about Cebuana Lhuillier's various insurance products and services which they can also purchase immediately online through the app.

Furthermore, the app also includes a “Safe Button” special feature that will automatically notify and send an “I AM SAFE” SMS message to the intended recipient about the user's current state during a disaster.

MIAAPI

Simultaneously, Cebuana Lhuillier also led the formation of the Microinsurance Agents Association of the Philippines, Incorporated (MIAAPI) an organization founded to promote the interests and welfare of microinsurance agents nationwide.

MIAAPI interim Board Members include ASEAN Insurance Council Heal Michael Rellosa Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) RFPA Asia Seniour Adviser Dante Portula, Pioneer Insurance VP Geric Laude, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Past President Enrique Abellana, Philippine Insureres Club Tresurer Edgard David, RBAP Coordinator Gay Mapano, Eternal Plans SAVP Jumer Lecetivo, Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation Executive Trustee Atty. Cesar Vidal, and CLIS General Manager Jonathan Batangan.

Moreover, Cebuana Lhuillier is also set to launch an online platform for insurance donations called OurHelp later this year. Connecting donees in the Philippines and donors from all over the world through a dedicated website, this crowdfunding website further aims to provide quality insurance protection awarded to the most vulnerable sectors in the form of premium donation from socially aware enterprises.
Prior to the culmination of the #NationalPilipinoProtektadoDay, Cebuana Lhuillier kicked off its disaster resilience advocacy by mounting and leading the highly-commended “2016 READY: The Role of Microinsurance in Building Disaster Resilient Communities” forum last January. A series of roadshows in key cities such as Baguio, Cebu and Davao immediately followed to cascade the forum's learnings.

Simultaneously, Cebuana Lhuillier launched during the road shows the Alagang Cebuana Plus Gold or ACP Gold – an improved version of the company's premiere microinsurance product that already includes a microlife component underwritten by PhilamLife/ ACP to date has covered more that six million Filipinos.