By Chino S. Leyco
Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. remained the leading life insurer in the country in terms of sales last year, the government regulator announced.
Based on the unaudited report submitted to the Insurance Commission, Sun Life of Canada has retained its market leadership in terms of premium income after it collected P37.39 billion last year.
Sunlife was followed by Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp. with P29.44 billion, then Philippine American Life & General Insurance Co., with P22.37 billion, Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UKwith P22.03 billion, and BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp., Inc. with P18.30 billion.
The life insurance industry posted a combined premium income of P228.61 billion in 2018.
Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa clarified that these rankings are based on the submitted unaudited quarterly statistics as of the quarter ending 31 December 2018 by the life insurance companies.
Earlier this year, Funa announced 2018 as the new banner year of the insurance industry, surpassing the previous highs recorded in 2017.
In terms of new business annual premium equivalent, Sun Life of Canada recorded the highest new business annual premium equivalent in the amount of P8.22 billion. AXA Philippines took the second spot with a total of P6 billion, while Philam Life is third with P4.43 billion, followed by Pru Life of UK(P5.76 billion), and BPI-Philam (P3.73 billion).
Based on net income, Philam Life took the top spot coming from second position in 2017 with a reported net income of P9.80 billion last year.
Kelvin Ang, Philam Life chief executive said they remain focused on the customer, on reaching them and creating products and programs that address their needs.
“In support of these objectives, AIA, our Hong Kong-based parent company, is investing P3 billion that will go into the acceleration of the growth of our agency force, and into the development of products that will help address the huge protection gap of the Philippines,” Ang said.
“The recently released IC rankings continue to show the strength and stability of Philam Life, reflected in our top ranking in terms of net income, assets, and net worth. To our customers, this simply means that when the time comes that they need us, they can count on us to meet our commitments,” he added.
The other top life insurance companies in terms of net income are Sun Life of Canada with P6.77 billion, AXA Philippines with P2.75 billion, Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Manulife) with P2.59 billion and, Insular Life Assurance Co. with P2.3 billion.
The reported net income of the top players accounts for 84 percent of the total net income of the life insurance industry in 2018.
In terms of assets, Philam Life retained the top spot with a reported total asset of P246.75 billion. Sun Life of Canada (P222.44 billion), Insular Life (P130.42 billion), AXA Philippines (P115.13 billion), and BPI-Philam (P101.38 billion) complete the top five life insurance companies in term of assets.
Philam Life likewise recorded the highest net worth for year 2018 amounting to P78.87 billion followed by Insular Life (P37.03 billion), Sun Life of Canada (P25.41 billion), Manulife Philippines (P14.43 billion), and United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation (P10.99 billion).
By end of 2019, existing insurance companies are required to increase their respective net worth to P900 million coming from the existing minimum of P550 million. This is the penultimate mandatory increase in minimum net worth requirement as required under the Insurance Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 10607.
By end of December 2022, existing insurance companies are required to have a net worth of at least P1.3 billion.