AS we move toward the last quarter of the year, the positive outlook, which we had at the beginning of the year, seems to be taking a back seat to the events currently prevailing. New Covid-19 cases have reached the 20,000-level as predicted by health experts and are expected to stay there during this month. The imposition of modified enhanced community quarantine has caused stoppage of work in many offices, and transport has become more limited. It is time to look at the economy again and perhaps make a new forecast. The insurance industry, especially the nonlife sector, which is very sensitive to the status of the economy, will have to calibrate its performance in the light of the new developments.

The Insurance Institute for Asia and the Pacific sponsored a webinar, "Economic Briefing for 2021," with noted economist Dr. Cielito Habito last Aug. 26, 2021. Doctor Habito is a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a column titled "No Free Lunch." After describing the present situation, which has resulted in persistent recession due to the lockdowns and slow business activity, he has a two-wheel proposal to push for the recovery of the economy. The two must durable sectors amid the pandemic are the digital economy and agriculture/agribusiness. Agricultural production is prevalent across all regions of the country and can provide labor and other linkages, which can make the regional economy recover fast and be a major contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP). The other wheel for recovery, according to Doctor Habito, is the digital economy and allied industries. Digitalization of almost all business processes became the solution to the immobilization of people and other movers of the economy. Sales and marketing, risk evaluation of insurable risks, payment of claims, commissions to agents and compensation of employees can be done remotely or without going to the offices of the companies. These two wheels of recovery are benefiting the nonlife insurance sector since it covers many agriculture-related risks. Micro insurance should be strongly promoted among farmers, poultry, swine and other food growers. In previous columns, I described how the insurance industry has utilized to the maximum the benefits of digitalization.

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