CARD MRI sends help for families in earthquake-hit Batangas

Immediately after the magnitude 6 as the strongest recorded earthquake that hardly-hit the province of Batangas, a concerted effort of relief assistance and insurance payments was immediately organized by CARD MRI Disaster Management Team composed of the Community Development Group, its microinsurance provider, CARD Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (CARD MBA), CARD MRI Insurance Agency, Inc., (CaMIA), CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc., (CPMI), CARD SME Bank, Inc., and other support group of CARD MRI.

Disaster Response Efforts

CARD MBA, Inc., CaMIA, and CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc. (CPMI), the microinsurance arms of CARD MRI, together with the operations staff of the CARD SME Bank in the affected areas immediately conducted claims validation for re-house to ensure immediate payment of claims. About 49 families who received claims for re-house were able to start rebuilding their houses. Relief goods were also given to 924 families to provide some assistance to the affected families.

Angelina Simfuego, a 60 year-old CARD SME BANK client since 2008, is one of the members who received relief assistance. Scared of aftershocks, her family built a tent outside their house where they spent the night. Some of their neighborhood’s houses were devastated while others had simple cracks on their walls.  “Thank you for these goods that you gave us. With my “Sagip Plan”, we’ll be able to fix our house,” she said.

Sagip Plan, a program offered by CARD Microinsurance Pioneer Inc., through its agents of CaMIA aims to provide insurance from death caused by accident. It also provides financial assistance for funeral costs and insures family members. It also insures properties from unexpected events such as fires, floods, storms, and earthquakes.

CARD-Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. is the country’s first non-life company specifically created to address calamity, agriculture, and income loss insurance needs of the marginalized market.

To date, about 1.2 million families have been assisted through CARD MRI’s relief operations and about PhP 17,877,900 SAGIP Plan claims paid.