Life insurance industry sells P82.6 B in total premiums in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - The life insurance industry has recorded total premium income amounting to P82.6 billion after the first three quarters of 2012, just P3 billion short of equaling the entire 2011 premium income of P85.6 billion. 

The first nine months results strengthened the industry’s outlook that it would achieve the P100-billion total premium income level by the end of 2012. 

Philippine Life Insurance Association (PLIA) president George D. Mercado said that the P100-billion premium target was now attainable. Mercado is also the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co. (Philippine Prudential). 

Mercado attributes the record growth in the first nine months to the improving economic conditions, greater financial literacy and protection awareness, aggressive growth of the industry’s agency force, better partnerships through bancassurance, and heightened investment appetite. 

The Philippine economy grew by 6.5 percent after the third quarter of the year, enroute to closing the year at the higher end of the government’s forecast of a five- to six- percent full year expansion. 

Based on data from the Insurance Commission (IC), the combined net income of the life insurance industry ballooned to P9.1 billion, nearly 55 percent higher than the P5.9 billion realized in the first semester. 

Total industry assets stood at P538 billion with an overall networth of P103 billion. 

Investments expanded to P429 billion, up from the first semester level of P419 billion, despite the prevailing low interest level environment.

Total benefit payments by the life insurance industry amounted to P21.3 billion.

 Meanwhile, the non-life insurance industry realized premiums earned of P15.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, a 38-percent leap from the previous quarter of P11.2 billion. 

Premiums earned by the non-life sector amounted to P22.1 billion in 2011. 

IC data shows that the non-life sector reported assets worth nearly P115 billion. However, total networth fell to P50.8 billion at the end of September, down six percent from the P54 billion recorded at the end of the first semester. 

Investments likewise fell from P55.6 billion end June 2012 to P52.6 billion after the third quarter of the year. 

Thus, industry net income dropped from P1.77 billion in the first semester to just P1.57 billion at the end of September.

Total losses incurred (due to damage claims) reached P6.7 billion.