MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The International Labor Organization (ILO) recently awarded an innovation grant to Pioneer Life Inc. to support its project, Pamilyang OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Savers and Wellness Club.  It was one out of 20 grantees chosen from more than 200 applicants.

Pioneer Life’s Pamilyang OFW Savers and Wellness Club was created together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) – Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), to encourage OFWs and their families to manage their finances wisely. The program encourages each member of the family to develop the habit of saving and to build enough savings to allow for the early return of the OFWs and reintegrate them with their families.

Formally launched in July 2009, the Club has been introduced to 6 CBCP dioceses and has registered some 900 members. Club members are entitled to benefits such as participation in financial literacy workshops, high interest rates on their savings, personal accident insurance, cash burial assistance, life insurance, and privileges from partners such as McDonald’s and Enchanted Kingdom. Membership is P400 for kids and P500 for adults.

The Savers and Wellness Club aims to extend insurance benefits to every member of the OFWs’ families. The Club’s benefits, such as personal accident insurance and burial assistance, are designed to help support OFWs in emergencies like sickness and death, so that their savings can be left untouched.

Reaching out to the OFW community proved to be the common objective of Pioneer Life and CBCP-ECMI. Nanjo Berba, Pioneer Life SVP for Business Development says, “Migrant workers usually leave the Philippines with huge debts. While they may earn a higher than average income abroad, if they mismanage it, they return to their families as financially disadvantaged as when they left the country.”

The Club is one of the projects that Pioneer Life has implemented in its effort to produce a strong nation of savers and investors, as opposed to a nation of borrowers and spenders. “The ILO grant gives us the resources to take this program to more OFW families nationwide, and brings us closer to our goal of transforming every Filipino into a saver,” Nanjo emphasizes. “We are pleased to partner with the ILO to bring affordable savings instruments and insurance to those who need it most.”

The Innovation Grants of the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility are designed to help institutions develop new micro-insurance projects and aim to support initiatives that benefit low-income policyholders.

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About Pioneer

Pioneer is a group of companies with two main arms: Pioneer Insurance, representing non-life insurance, and Pioneer Life, representing life. With over half a century of experience, Pioneer consistently charts insurance milestones and annual premiums continue to impress. Pioneer has an extensive network around the Philippines with 34 branches. With an office in Hong Kong, Pioneer Insurance remains the only active Philippine non-life company writing business in China’s Special Administrative Region. Pioneer is firmly committed to becoming a model Filipino enterprise.

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Naissa Carmona
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naissa@eon.com.ph
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