Insurance industry income up 65% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s insurance industry recorded a 65-percent increase in net income, while premiums ballooned nearly 30 percent in the first nine months.

This development prompted Emmanuel Dooc of the Insurance Commission (IC) to forecast total premium income to surpass the 2013 record performance of P198.1 billion.

“The year 2015 promises to be the best year ever for the insurance industry in the Philippines,” Dooc said.

Earlier this year, the IC commissioner projected a combined premium income of P240 billion.

“Taking into account the industry’s consistent performance during the first three quarters, our target is still achievable if both the life and non-life sectors will have a strong finish during the fourth quarter,” he said.

Industry earnings expanded to P20.41 billion in the first nine months from P12.31 billion last year.

The combined premium production of life and non-life insurance sectors as of end of third quarter climbed 29.75 percent to P172.40 billion from P132.87 billion posted last year, while the insurance industry’s total investments registered P952.13 billion, up 19.1 percent from P799.44 billion last year.

The industry’s total assets or resources remained steady at P1.09 trillion, up 10.1 percent from P0.99 trillion last year.

In terms of net worth, the industry posted a 6.05-percent increase to P195.39 billion from P184.25 billion last year.

The life insurance sector showed a strong performance in the third quarter, with a total net income of P16.79 billion, up 57.21 percent compared to the same period last year.

Its total premium expanded by 33.16 percent from P109.25 billion to P145.48 billion.

Premiums from variable life insurance products rose 46.56 percent to P104.93 billion as of September from P71.60 billion last year. Variable life (VULs) are life insurance products spiked with investment products.

Premiums from traditional or pure protection life insurance products posted a 7.73 percent increase from P37.64 billion to P40.55 billion.

Out of the industry’s P952.13 billion total investments, the life sector contributed P886.64 billion, up 20.04 percent from P738.60 billion last year.

Assets of the life sector posted a 11.46-percent increase to P921.19 billion as of end of the third quarter from P826.44 billion. Total net worth stood at P123.56 billion.