Asian News - Philippines: Court orders injunction against super CTPL monopoly
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jan 2016
The Makati Regional Trial Court has temporarily stopped the implementation of a proposed reform by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) that could create a monopoly in Compulsory Third Party Liability (CTPL) motor insurance.
The proposed move would have one company responsible for issuing CTPL policies, to combat problems such as fake CTPL, fly-by-night insurers, price undercutting and tax leakage. A CTPL insurance policy is required when registering a motor vehicle with the LTO.
Insurers, however, argued that a monopoly would be created and that costs would rise significantly. There are fears too that insurance agents would be made redundant. A petition was lodged by industry players like the Insurance Commission, the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association, and Bukluran ng mga Manggagawa sa Industriya ng Seguro (BMIS) which is an alliance of insurance industry workers.
The court ruled on 2 December 2015 that the proposed change would violate insurance and anti-monopoly regulations, as well as infringe on the authority of the Insurance Commission.