By Chino S. Leyco
The microinsurance sector is on track to hit its number of covered Filipinos as mutual benefit associations (MBA) as well as life and non-life insurers continued to drive sales of the industry.
Data from the Insurance Commission showed that that 40 million individuals in the Philippines are now covered by microinsurance at end-September this year, higher compared with 38.9 million last year.
From less than three million in 2009, microinsurance is now the leading insurance products in terms of number of individuals covered. The Department of Finance (DOF) wants to bring it up further to 50 million Filipinos by 2022.
As of September, MBAs registered the highest number of individuals covered by microinsurance with 25 million members and dependents, equivalent to a 63 percent market share. This group also collected 3.91 billion in premiums.
CARD MBA, Inc. dominated the MBA sector with a total market share of 80 percent and 82 percent in terms of the number of lives insured and premium production, respectively.
Second is Pag-asa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc. followed by Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Benefit Association, Inc., Tulay sa Pag-unlad (TSPI) Mutual Benefit Association, Inc., and CCT Mutual Benefit Association, Inc.
As to the total contributions made, TSPI Mutual Benefit Association Inc., came in second, followed by Pagasa ng Pinoy MBA, Inc., Simbag sa Emerhensiya Asin Dagdag Pasegurohan, MBAI, and Alalay sa Kaunlaran (ASKI) Mutual Benefit Association, Inc.,
The life insurance sector, on the other hand, covered eight million individuals with a total premium production of ₱1.95 billion.
Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa, meanwhile, said that life insurance sector posted a 27 percent decrease in terms of number of insured lives from 11 million oil same period last year.
Nevertheless, Funa said the life insurance sector posted a four percent increase in terms of premium production to ₱1.95 billion from ₱1.88 billion a year ago.
The top five life insurance companies in terms of number of covered lives are: Pioneer Life, Inc., CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative, Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp., and Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp..