Insurance sector books higher premiums

THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY’s combined premium income increased by 14.1% last year, with the life sector making up 80% of the total, the Insurance Commission (IC) said on Tuesday.

The combined premium income of life and nonlife insurers and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) stood at P502.64 billion in 2025, up from P440.53 billion in 2024, based on the latest data based on submissions from 129 out of 131 active companies.

The life insurance sector accounted for 80.22% of total premiums, while nonlife insurers and MBAs contributed 16.41% and 3.37% to the total, respectively.

Insurance penetration, or the ratio of insurance premiums to the gross domestic product (GDP), reached 1.79%, up from 1.67% in 2024.

Insurance density, or the average spending of each individual on insurance, climbed to P4,414.58 from P3,894.03 in the previous year.

The combined net income of the industry increased by 15.1% year on year to P64.79 billion in 2024.

Total assets expanded by 7.93% to P2.66 trillion last year from P2.47 trillion in 2024.

The industry’s invested assets also increased by 8.01% to P2.38 trillion from P2.21 trillion.

Total liabilities rose by 7.54% year on year.

Meanwhile, benefits paid by the insurance sector rose by 2.37% to P164.16 billion last year from P160.35 billion in 2024, with the life insurers paying out P121.88 billion and nonlife companies shelling out P34.05 billion.

The industry’s combined net worth grew by 9.5% to P530.45 billion from P484.39 billion.

“The industry’s growing capacity to meet policyholder needs was supported by stronger balance sheets,” the IC said. “This financial resilience further strengthens confidence that insurers can continue supporting beneficiaries when they need it most.”

“Backed by effective regulation and strong collaboration across the sector, the insurance industry is poised to sustain its growth and expand its contribution to both economic development and the protection of lives, properties, and livelihoods of the Filipino people in the years ahead.”

LIFE INSURERS
Meanwhile, life insurers are optimistic about the sector’s continued growth this year on steady demand for protection and wealth management despite weak economic prospects.

“I think in general, the sector has the same type of optimism because you do see that once wealth starts to increase, people first go to savings, then life insurance. And wealth in the Philippines is in general still increasing, so you will continue to see that take-up,” Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc.

(PLIA) President and EastWest Ageas Life Insurance Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Sjoerd Smeets told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event late last month.

Mr. Smeets said the life sector’s growth has been stable in the past years, even with the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the weak economic environment at present has led to some uncertainty, causing some Filipinos to delay their insurance purchases.

“The economic impact in the Philippines, especially in the third and fourth quarters, has translated into lower spending in supermarkets, lower spending in shopping malls, and people holding back certain investments. Life insurance is one of them because it’s not a very small purchase,” he said. “So, people hold back a little bit, but I think it’s more of a temporary thing.”

He said they saw the same trend during the coronavirus pandemic, which was followed by a surge in demand as the economic situation improved.

As the newly elected PLIA president, Mr. Smeets said he aims to focus on ensuring holistic growth for the sector that would benefit both companies and customers.

He added that as part of efforts to increase insurance penetration in the country, they want to propose tax benefits for life insurance policies, which they will discuss with the Insurance Commission.

“Life insurance is very critical… So, we need to make sure that people understand that principle and that becomes actually easy. That it’s like saving, but then if you can incentivize that, you can really increase the insurance penetration,” he said.

“So that would be, in the end, [a good thing] for the customers. They would need to pay less to invest in life insurance.”

They are also working on ensuring a smooth transition to the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards 17 ahead of the 2027 deadline, he added. — Aaron Michael C. Sy