THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY saw its combined premium income rise by 12.81% year on year in 2024, driven by the life sector, the Insurance Commission (IC) said on Wednesday.
The combined premium income of life and non-life insurers and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) climbed to P440.39 billion in 2024 from P390.39 billion the year prior, according to IC data based on the submissions of 128 out of 137 licensed insurers and MBAs.
The industry’s net income grew by 15.88% year on year to P56.29 billion last year from P48.58 billion.
Total assets increased by 6.43% to P2.46 trillion, while invested assets climbed by 7.23% to P2.2 trillion. Meanwhile, liabilities rose by 7.09% to P1.98 trillion.
Benefit payouts increased by 18.97% year on year to P160.33 billion from P134.76 billion.
Insurance penetration — or premium volume as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), which shows the contribution of the industry to the economy — inched up to 1.67% at end-2024 from 1.61% a year prior.
“This is explained by the faster growth of the insurance premiums vis-à-vis the 8.84%growth in the GDP (in current prices), which underscores stronger expansion within the insurance and MBA sectors as of Q4 2024,” Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado said in a statement.
Insurance density — or the amount of premium per capita, which shows the average spending of each individual on insurance — increased by 12.58% to P3,892.77 last year from P3,457.84 in 2023, as the increase in insurance premiums outpaced the population’s growth.
LIFE INSURANCEThe life insurance sector’s premium income grew by 13.56% to P352.02 billion in 2024 from P309.99 billion, IC data based on submissions of 31 out of 35 licensed companies showed. Variable life premiums grew by 12.21% to P229.81 billion, while traditional life premiums increased by 16.17% to P122.204 billion.
“The increase can be attributed to the good performance shown by the single premiums of variable life insurance, which reported a significant increase of 40.33%… Of the total life premiums, 65.28% came from variable life insurance, while the remaining 34.72% came from traditional life insurance,” Mr. Regalado said.
By line of business, premium income from variable life products (P229.81 billion) made up the bulk of the sector’s total, followed by ordinary policies (P72.87 billion), group and industrial plans (P30.16 billion), health products (P16.88 billion), and accident products (P2.29 billion).
Meanwhile, life insurers’ new business annual premium equivalent increased by 9.57% to P67.49 billion last year.
The sector’s combined net income rose by 19.63% year on year to P40.23 billion.
This came even as the industry saw a 22.06% increase in total life benefits paid to P123.49 billion.
Life insurance firms’ assets expanded by 7.3% to P1.92 trillion at end-2024, while liabilities grew by 8.2% to P1.64 trillion. The sector’s net worth also went up by 2.33% to P278.31 billion.
Total paid-up capital inched down by 0.93% to P32.47 billion in 2024 from P32.78 billion, which the IC said was due to the decrease in the number of companies with submissions. The 2023 data was based on submissions from 33 out of 34 licensed firms.
NONLIFE INSURANCEOn the other hand, the combined net premiums written (NPW) by nonlife insurers grew by 10.49% year on year to P71.84 billion in 2024, IC data based on submissions of 55 out of 59 licensed firms showed.
“The motor car line of business, which is the major contributor to total NPW per line of business with a 40.17% share, rose modestly by 6.28% during this reporting period to P28.86 billion,” Mr. Regalado said. This was followed by the fire insurance line, which contributed P11.95 billion or 16.64% to total net premiums written.
Premiums earned went up by 6.58% year on year to P67.79 billion, while gross premiums written climbed by 9.62% to P134.12 billion.
Meanwhile, the sector’s combined net income inched down by 2.63% to P8.89 billion from P9.13 billion as underwriting expenses grew faster than underwriting income, the IC said.
“Despite this, the commission still views that the nonlife sector exhibited strength and continued financial growth, with a solid performance in key areas like motor car insurance and high investment returns. Overall, the nonlife market remains stable and improving, indicating positive long-term prospects,” Mr. Regalado said.
The nonlife sector’s assets inched up by 0.73% to P374.49 billion at end-2024, with total invested assets increasing by 4.48% to P185 billion.
Its aggregate net worth went up by 3.35% to P134.3 billion.
Meanwhile, total liabilities dropped 0.68% to P240.2 billion. Combined losses incurred by the sector rose by 10.15% to P29.08 billion last year.
Paid-up capital inched down by 1.94% to P50 billion.
MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATIONSLastly, MBAs’ total premiums or contributions went up by 7.49% to P16.54 billion in 2024 from P15.39 billion, based on data from the submissions of 42 out of 43 licensed companies.
“All performance indicators for MBAs increased year on year between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024,” Mr. Regalado noted.
MBAs’ total assets grew by 10.10% year on year to P163.58 billion at end-2024, with total invested assets increasing by 12.62% to P152.54 billion.
Their combined total fund balance rose by 11.16% to P67.27 billion last year, while their guaranty fund went up by 4.61% to P1.296 billion.
The MBA sector’s net surplus increased by 23.24% to P7.16 billion in 2024 from P5.81 billion the year prior.
Meanwhile, its total liabilities grew by 9.37% to P96.3 billion.
Total benefit payments and expenses went up by 7.8% to P7.75 billion in 2024 from P7.19 billion in 2023. — A.M.C. Sy
