The rate of life insurance coverage in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is very low and it’s a concern because workers should at least have some form of insurance to cover them and their families should there be any emergency cases, or in the event of a death.
This was the message from BSP Life PNG Country Manager Mr. Nilson Singh, who revealed that less than 3% of the country’s population have some form of life insurance coverage.
He said that life insurance is important and people who are employed must at least have one.
“Life insurance is all about protecting what you care about most, it’s about your family, your children continuing tertiary education, your spouse living the life you both planned today, or your business partner being able to continue the business without you being there,” said Mr. Singh.
He added that the benefits of life insurance include enabling one to make better plans for the future.
“It also enables you to plan forward for future needs and enjoying the proceeds from your life insurance policy, if you survive to the policy maturity.”
Mr. Singh pointed out as well that the reasons for the low life insurance coverage are a lack of proper awareness by financial institutions of the importance of life insurance products and insurance companies having to exit the market abruptly.
However, despite this, there is optimism that life insurance coverage will improve in the near future.
“We are optimistic that with continued education and awareness in the market, we will surely see a lot more people taking up life insurance; thus, protecting their loved ones, as well as using insurance to save for the future.”
BSP Life PNG itself is a subsidiary of BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) and provides life insurance products that are aimed at selected market segments to provide insurance cover that meet corporate and individual needs.
BSP Life PNG has three products: Loan Protection Insurance, Wantok Delite and Wantok Group Term Life.
The BSP subsidiary is also a strong advocator for life insurance coverage in Papua New Guinea.