Client-centric insurance for MSMEs in the Philippines

• Jul 26, 2025
• 1 min

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines operate in one of the world’s most disaster-prone regions, yet most remain uninsured and financially vulnerable to climate shocks. Frequent typhoons and natural disasters disrupt business operations and often lead to prolonged recovery times or permanent closures. Traditional insurance products are either too costly or poorly aligned with the unique risks and cash flow patterns of MSMEs, which results in low uptake. The absence of affordable, accessible, and tailored risk protection leaves a critical gap in the country’s efforts to build enterprise resilience.

MSC was engaged to address the insurance gap for MSMEs by designing products that could protect them from disaster-related business disruptions.

MSC conducted detailed research with more than 180 MSMEs and facilitated dialogues with insurers and financial institutions to understand demand-side realities and supply-side readiness. Based on this, MSC developed a business interruption insurance concept tailored to the operational risks MSMEs face. MSC designed the product for affordability, with premium rates as low as PHP 900 per year (USD 18.56) for coverage up to USD 8578.25.

We promoted the product aggressively through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Department of Trade and Industry Philippine s(DTI) , with a target of 15,000 MSMEs, which included 2,000 MSMEs from Davao City alone. This intervention significantly boosted risk protection for MSMEs and encouraged enterprise resilience and sustainability amid climate volatility.

GIZ, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Government of the Philippines commissioned the project.