The life insurance industry registered robust growth in premium collections and financial performance in the first three months of the year, the Insurance Commission (IC) reported.
Total premiums collected by life insurance companies increased by 12 percent from January to March 2024 to P87.66 billion compared to the same period last year.
IC said the growth in premium collection was driven by increases in both variable unit life (VUL) insurance policies and traditional life insurance, which posted increases of 6.8 percent and 22.17 percent, respectively.
Premiums paid under VUL policies amounted to P55.06 billion at end-March, while premiums under traditional life insurance amounted to P32.6 billion.
Moreover, new business premium collections during the quarter rose eight percent to P6.71 billion.
Total net income of the life insurance sector also jumped 48.5 percent to P9.65 billion, compared to P6.50 billion in the same period last year.
The sector's total assets grew by nine percent to P1.86 trillion, with total liabilities increasing by 12 percent.
Meanwhile, non-life insurance firms also saw a positive start to the year 2024, with a seven percent year-on-year increase in net premiums written to P16.99 billion.
Despite a slight decline of 1.3 percent in total premiums earned compared to the same period in 2023, the non-life insurance sector posted an overall increase in total gross premiums written, reaching P28.20 billion.
The boost in net premiums written was mainly driven by increased premium collections from motor vehicle insurance and fire insurance, which rose by 10.87 percent and 9.13 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, total losses incurred by non-life insurers fell by 4.8 percent to P6.23 billion due to a decrease in claims paid out.
However, the total net income for the sector registered a four percent decline, amounting to P2.52 billion, due to the slight drop in total premiums earned.