Compulsory Insurance for Agency-Hired OFWs

The Circular is issued pursuant to Section 37-A of Republic Act No. 8042 (The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995), as amended by Republic Act No. 10022.
The Circular is anchored on Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022.
The Circular issues guidelines to implement the compulsory insurance coverage required under Section 37-A of Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022.

All agency-hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)—whether landbased or seabased—must be covered by a compulsory insurance coverage.
The compulsory coverage must be issued by an insurance provider that is duly licensed and certified by the Insurance Commission.
Agency-hired OFWs are defined in the Circular as those hired through POEA licensed land-based recruitment or manning agencies.

The insurance coverage takes effect for the duration of the worker’s employment contract.
The coverage must cover, at the minimum, these contingencies:
- accidental death
- natural death
- permanent total disability
- repatriation cost
- subsistence allowance
- settlement allowance
- compassionate visit
- medical evacuation
- medical repatriation

The recruitment/manning agency or the foreign principal/employer must pay the cost of the insurance coverage.
The cost of the insurance coverage cannot be charged directly or indirectly to the agency-hired OFW.

The Circular requires compliance with POEA requirements for the issuance of the overseas employment certificate (POEA exit clearance).
In addition to those requirements, the recruitment/manning agency must present insurance-related documents when processing the employment documents of the OFWs.

For landbased Filipino workers, recruitment agencies must present an original copy of the insurance policy for each OFW.
For each landbased OFW, agencies must submit a one (1) page document detailing:
- the name of the worker
- the principal
- the insurance provider
- the insurance policy number
For group insurance, agencies must provide a Proof of Cover issued to the individual insured OFW.
For group insurance, the Proof of Cover must also be pre-approved by the Insurance Commission.

For seafarers, manning agencies must submit a certificate or other proof of cover signed by its principal when deploying seafarers on vessels with policies issued by foreign insurance companies.
The seafarers’ deployment cover includes cases where foreign arrangements provide indemnity cover to the vessel.
Manning agencies must submit the certificate or proof of cover, and a copy of the standard Certificate of Cover is attached for reference.
Where the principal’s vessel is not covered by any indemnity insurance, manning agencies must secure insurance policies from insurance companies duly licensed and certified/authorized by the Insurance Commission to underwrite insurance policies for overseas Filipino workers.

Agencies whose workers/seafarers were processed through the in-house processing scheme must submit to the POEA the insurance policies/indemnity cover of their workers prior to deployment.

Violation by the recruitment/manning agency and/or the foreign principal is a ground for the imposition of appropriate sanctions under the POEA Rules and Regulations and other applicable laws.
The Circular takes effect fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in a newspaper of general circulation.