Life premiums up 73% in Q1

MANILA, Philippines - Total gross premium income of the country’s life insurance industry ballooned to P44.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013, or 73 percent higher than the P25.6 billion in the same period last year. 

Life insurers reported total gross premium income of P119.4 billion in 2012, up 38.3 percent from the premium income of P86.3 billion in 2011.

 Data from the Insurance Commission (IC) likewise show that total investment in the first three months of 2013 expanded to P45.2 billion, 3.87 percent higher than the P41.6 billion last year. 

Net income grew by 29.5 percent to P3.3 billion this year, from the P2.6 billion in the same period in 2012. 

Benefit payments grew by 25.4 percent to P12.6 billion from January to March 2013 from P10 billion in the same period last year. 

Total assets of the life insurance sector reached P585.7 billion in the first quarter of 2013, up 13 percent from the P518 billion in the same period last year. 

But total liabilities reached P475.9 billion or 15.39 percent from the 2012 figure of P412 billion. 

Total industry networth increased to P109.8 billion, up slightly 3.87 percent from the P105.7 billion last year. 

Combined paid up capital however fell to P11.2 billion in the first quarter this year from P12.1 billion last year, as a result of the departure or merger of one or two players.

Meanwhile, Sun Life of Canada ended 2012 with total premium income of P20.06 billion and thus retaining the top life insurance industry leadership. In 2011, gross premiums amounted to P13.8 billion. 

Single premiums amounted to a total of P8.1 billion. 

Second spot went to Pru Life UK ending the year with P15.59 billion in premiums, with single premiums reaching P11.4 billion. 

The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) reported total premiums of P15.29 billion with single premiums amounting to P5.4 billion.

In fourth was AXA Philippines (AXA) with total premiums of P12.2 billion and single premiums of P8.1 billion. 

Fifth best performer was bancassurance joint venture BPI Philam with premiums worth P11.4 billion, of which P9.9 billion are single premiums. 

The combined premium income from the top five players in fact account for roughly 80 percent of industry premiums. 

Insular Life Assurance Co. (Insular Life), which was at one time second best, reflected premiums worth P9.1 billion followed by Manulife Philippines with P7.4 billion in premiums. 

Bancassurance joint ventures Sunlife Grepa and Manulife Chinabank reported premiums of P5.8 billion and P4.5 billion, respectively. 

PNB Life Assurance ended up 10th overall with premiums worth P3.9 billion. 

The top 10 players have a combined premium income of approximately 90 percent of the industry’s total premium income. 

The other members of the billion pesos worth of premiums are Cocolife, Generali Pilipinas, Asian Life and General Assurance (ALGA), Pioneer Life, and Philippine Prudential Life Assurance (Philippine Prudential). 

Out of the original 33 life insurers, only 29 submitted complete reports. IC officials said that insurers that failed to report were actually in the process of being acquired or “winding up” business such as Sony Life.