Microinsurance policies will be updated every year according to the ITU

As part of a reform project that began in 2023, the Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and AFP (SBS) updated the reference value of the cap for the monthly premium of microinsurancea type of insurance designed to provide coverage to the population with fewer resources or those in vulnerability.

Onwards, The ceiling for collecting the microinsurance premium will no longer be 2% of the minimum vital remuneration (RMV)but 0.6% of the Tax Tax Unit (UIT), updated year by year.

In this way, the regulation comes into force today, Tuesday, April 23, with a cap that goes from S/20.50 to S/30.90 by 2024, but could continue to grow in 2025 as the ITU updates. It will be 90 days of adaptation.

“The UIT has been established as the reference base variable for the maximum premium to be charged for microinsurance because, unlike the RMV, it better reflects the economic situation of the country, according to the information published by the MEF,” says SBS. .

However, thanks to the previous system, between 2022 and 2023 the number of insured people in Peru went from 4.4 to 5.3 million with microinsurance, despite the fact that in May of the first of these two years the RMV was raised to S/ 1,025. Will the measure be regressive? No, according to the Peruvian Association of Insurance Companies (Apeseg).

Will policies go up?

Eduardo Morón, president of Apeseg, explains that there is a wide “heterogeneity” between clients and types of microinsurance that has been “limited to products with a much lower price,” which is why an upward update was necessary. Per se, They had asked SBS for a ceiling of S/40, in days when the level of penetration of the public was “vulnerable” target only reaches 20%.

Apeseg clarifies that one of the barriers was the definition of how much a microinsurance policy should cost, and one of the pending issues was the maximum premium.

For Morón, it is not just about thinking about low-income families or companies, and the idea is that these tools allow other segments to enter and stop having “a vulnerability that escapes this non-corporate way of managing risks.”

“It is part of the discussion we have with SBS. Who vulnerable population? The low-income one, or the one who doesn’t have any insurance? Because, if I have a store, I’m probably in decile 3 or 4. But if I don’t have insurance, I’m super vulnerable,” she highlighted.

However, the new cap not only opens the market to new microinsurance, but also the current ones are free to raise their prices. When consulted by La República, the SBS ruled out any attempt to make the product more expensive, and clarified that the increase was a “consequence, but not the objective.”

Either way, The SBS insists that microinsurance must be “adapted to the needs of the low-income population”, as simple products with clear coverage and few exclusions. The market response will be known in December.

Microinsurance for cards at the head

In order, the most requested microinsurance in Peru is protection of credit card or debit (almost 50%), life insurance for financial institutions, accidents, fires and against assaults and thefts.

The resolution was also incorporated without stating the cause. Either party can terminate the contract without explaining the reason, with the exception of life and health insurance.

The key

Protection. In 2023, S/237 million 660,838 were paid in microinsurance premiums. Of the total, S/31 million 681,972 (13%) were charged, especially due to accidents and card theft.