If there’s one company I know that has lived up to its name, it’s Pioneer Insurance. Sure, insurance can sound cut and dried, and highly technical to most of us – but one look at the milestones of the company and you’ll find points of interest that reveal its pioneering spirit.
In 1975, it insured the “Thrilla in Manila” (Ali-Frazier boxing match), and the shipping of the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ to Germany for repairs — unique coverages at the time. Throughout its 70-year history, it has kept in tune with the market, introducing products such as dengue, leptospirosis, cyber, drone, golf, fine arts, events, and film production insurance.
Not only has it been innovative, but it has remained a strong and reliable financial leader. Pioneer Insurance is among the top three non-life insurance companies in the Philippines.
At the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) Conference in Buenos Aires: The book was launched in November 2024 at the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) Conference. The conference was attended by over 375 representatives of more than 100 mutual and cooperative insurance organizations around the world. Dr. Alip and Chan were key participants in a discussion on “Partnerships to Create More Resilient Businesses,” and presented the Covering Nanay story as a case study to highlight the importance of collaborative commitment and effective strategies in sustaining a microinsurance business.
A meaningful partnership
Its partnership with Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), the country’s foremost microfinance organization, is another milestone for the company.
In 2007, Lorenzo Chan Jr., president and CEO of Pioneer Inc., met CARD founder Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip to make microinsurance within reach of those who needed it the most – Filipinos down the pyramid. Through their joint venture known as CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc (CPMI), more Filipinos now have access to and enjoy the benefits of insurance. CPMI’s story is captured in the book Covering Nanay: The Philippine Microinsurance Journey by Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip and Lorenzo Chan Jr.
“CARD and Pioneer Insurance have been at the forefront of unlocking the role that inclusive insurance can play to support the livelihoods of the poor,” says Doubell Chamberlain, managing director of the Center for Financial Regulation and Inclusion. “Dr. Aris Alip and Lorenzo Chan have been the driving forces behind these two organizations in inclusive insurance, culminating in the eventual creation of CPMI. Without their personal sacrifice and grit, these efforts would have succumbed to the numerous challenges they faced a long time ago. With both their heart and professional careers invested in achieving social impact, you will find no better narrators to the story of inclusive insurance in the Philippines.”
Robert Christen, president and founding member, Boulder Institute of Microfinance, says, “I highly recommend this book as perhaps the pre-eminent example of how putting the client at the center, over and over again, in often difficult moments, can lead to excellent results for both the families as well as the insurer.”
At the Fully Booked launch: The book was formally launched to the public on April 25, 2024, at The Studio at Fully Booked BGC. Excerpts from the book were read by the authors, and by three nanays whose inspiring stories were featured in the book. Covering Nanay: The Philippine Microinsurance Journey eventually made it to the list of Fully Booked’s top ten bestsellers
Former Insurance Commissioner Atty. Dennis Funa shares: “The story of CPMI is one of courage and success. A joint venture of two entities who were practically strangers to each other, but both driven by a desire to achieve a seemingly impossible dream. The dream would become reality and benefit thousands of fellow Filipinos and our country as a whole. Today, CPMI stands as a beacon, a guidepost, telling us that there is always hope. Telling us to dream the impossible.”
Covering Nanay: The Philippine Microinsurance Journey was launched at Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, and in microfinance and microinsurance conferences in the Philippines, Kathmandu, and Buenos Aires.
Over 5,000 copies have been sold to date, making it a best-seller at Fully Booked, and is now on its second printing.
The book is also available in Kindle or print-on-demand versions through Amazon.
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