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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Pre-need industry profit plunges 37% even as premiums jump 7.5%

Pre-need industry profit plunges 37% even as premiums jump 7.5%

Published Dec 8, 2025 12:00 am  |  Updated Dec 6, 2025 02:50 pm

At A Glance

  • Despite the sustained expansion in premium income, the ₱5 billion year-to-date net income still dropped by 37.5 percent, or more than a third, from ₱8 billion a year earlier.
The Philippine pre-need industry’s net income plunged 37 percent to ₱5 billion in the first nine months of the year, despite the 7.5 percent increase in total premium income to ₱17.5 billion
Data from the Insurance Commission (IC) showed the industry’s total premium income increased 7.5 percent to ₱17.5 billion in the third quarter of 2025, from ₱16.3 billion in the same period last year.
“This growth demonstrates the industry’s continued development and consistent performance despite persistent economic challenges,” Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado said in a statement released last Friday.
“It confirms the industry’s commitment to improving and expanding market reach,” he added.
Overall assets expanded 5.3 percent to ₱173.4 billion from ₱164.6 billion as of the third quarter of 2024.
The IC attributed the rise to the industry’s resilience and positive market performance.
The growth was mainly driven by an increase in investments in trust funds, which account for 85.8 percent of the industry’s total assets, the IC said. These funds consist of plan holders’ payments set aside to cover the cost of benefits and services.
The trust fund investments grew 5.8 percent to ₱148.7 billion from ₱140.54 billion.
Pre-need reserves, which represent the actuarial reserve liabilities (ARL) established to cover net obligations to plan holders, also rose six percent to ₱134.2 billion as of end-September, from ₱126.6 billion a year earlier.
The IC noted that investments in trust funds remain “more than sufficient to cover future benefit claims,” reflecting the industry’s “good fund management, ensuring that obligations to plan holders are and shall be fully met.”
Total net worth reached ₱31.6 billion, a modest increase of 1.7 percent from ₱31 billion a year ago.
Total plans sold rose sharply to more than 690,000 as of end-September, from nearly 510,000 in the comparable period of 2024.
Regalado pointed out that during the period, “life and memorial plans continued to dominate the industry, accounting for 99.9 percent of all pre-need plans sold.”
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