By Chino S. Leyco
The premiums and number of individuals covered by microinsurance increased last year as Filipinos become more aware of the affordable financial product that protects their properties and lives, the preliminary data from the Insurance Commission showed.
Dennis B. Funa
In a statement, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said yesterday that microinsurance sector posted a total premium production of P8.14 billion last year, an increase of 14 percent compared with P7.11 billion in the previous year.
In 2018, the mutual benefit associations (MBAs) sector continued to be the frontrunner in terms of number of premium production and number of lives covered, while the non-life and life insurance sectors posted significant growth in the area of microinsurance.
According to Funa, the non-life sector’s premium production grew by 26 percent to P998.97 million from P794.19 million a year before.
In terms of premiums produced, the CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc. led the non-life insurance sector with a market share of 66.89 percent or P668.26 million premium production, followed by Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corp. with P194.31 million and The Mercantile Insurance Co. with P94.55 million.
The MBA sector, on the other hand, posted P4.56 billion in terms of contribution or an increase of 17 percent from the P3.9 billion contributed in 2017.
CARD Mutual Benefit Association remains to be the leader in the MBA sector with a market share of P3.79 billion or 83.06 percent of the P4.56 billion total contributions made by all the members of the MBAs.
Tulay sa Pag-unlad Mutual Benefit Association, meanwhile, ranked second with a recorded contribution of P258.96 million followed by Alalay sa Kaunlaran Mutual Benefit Association with P69.97 million.
The life insurance sector, on the other hand, posted a seven percent increase in premiums produced to P2.58 billion last year from P2.42 billion in 2017.