The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation recently expanded the coverage of the waiver for filing of deposit insurance claims for small depositors to P10,000 from the present P5,000.

In an unprecedented move, PDIC announced that it would no longer require the filing of deposit insurance claims for depositors with balances of P10,000 and below. This will ensure that more small depositors will benefit from the expeditious payment of deposit insurance without the need to file claims.

With this expansion, 63 percent of Banco Filipino depositors or over 100,000 depositors will receive their deposit insurance directly through registered mail without need of filing claims. This new level will also apply to succeeding bank closures.

Last year, PDIC implemented for the first time the waiver for depositors with balances of P5,000 and below. This level will still apply to banks closed before March 17, 2011.

“PDIC reaffirms its commitment to protect small depositors and that is why our Board of Directors immediately approved the extension of waiver of the filing requirement to depositors with balances of P10,000 and below,” PDIC President Jose C. Nograles said.

“PDIC continuously looks for ways to improve its public service delivery to the depositing public,” Nograles added.

Last week, PDIC started mailing the first batch of insurance payments to BF depositors with balances of P5,000 and below, with no outstanding loans from the bank and with complete addresses in the bank records. Payment was made by way of Postal Money Orders (PMOs) sent through registered mail directly to depositors. The PMOs can be encashed in more than 1,400 post offices and over 300 Land Bank of the Philippines branches nationwide.

PDIC will start mailing insurance payments to BF depositors with balances of between P5,001 to P10,000 in May, after the target completion of the payment for P5,000 and below. Payment will also be through PMO.

Nograles said that for accounts with balances above P10,000 up to P500,000, the target start of payout is 120 days after the takeover, or in mid-July. The schedule of filing will be announced soon. He added that meanwhile, the initial stage for processing of said accounts shall be started even before claims are filed.End