Pru Life UK, the Philippine arm of the London-based insurance giant, expects demand for life insurance to remain resilient despite escalating military conflict in the Middle East and domestic inflationary pressures.

Princess Balingit, Pru Life UK chief investment officer, said that heightened global volatility often serves as catalyst for consumers to seek financial protection rather than a deterrent to long-term planning.

“We are not feeling it in an impactful way because what we are selling is really protection. It’s for the long term, and the more that we face these types of risks, the more that we face these types of vulnerabilities, the more you get to understand what protection really means,” Balingit told reporters.

The insurer reported a surge in profitability for 2025, with net income rising 61.8 percent to ₱7.1 billion from ₱4.4 billion last year, driven by the  9.7 percent increase in total premium income, which reached ₱52.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the insurer said it must conduct a prudential assessment of risks, and potentially deny policy applications. Potential customers who are expected to be exposed to war-related risks are likely to be advised to defer their application until situations stabilize in those areas, as is the case in the Middle East.

Pru Life UK’s total premium income in 2025 stood at ₱52.8 billion, growing 9.7 percent from ₱48.2 billion in 2024. This was significantly bolstered by a 93.9-percent rise in traditional life insurance premiums (rising from ₱2.2 billion to ₱3.9 billion), alongside steady growth in variable products.

It can be noted that net income, the firm’s strongest performance indicator, jumped 61.7 percent from ₱4.4 billion in 2024 to ₱7.1 billion in 2025.

Paid-up capital—the total amount of money shareholders have already contributed to the insurer’s equity—stands at only ₱500 million, reflecting the company’s status as a mature firm that no longer requires heavy capital infusions.

Further, Pru Life UK’s new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) totaled ₱9.8 billion. This metric, which reflects success in acquiring new business, increased 2.2 percent to ₱10 billion. Pru Life UK topped the insurance industry on this metric.

Its net worth expanded by 42.1 percent to ₱5.8 billion from ₱4.1 billion, indicating a strengthening of its financial cushion and retained earnings.

Beth Villahermosa, Pru Life UK chief actuary, said 15 percent of the insurer’s business is traditional, while its investment-linked products (ILP) take the lion’s share at 85 percent.

“For the longest time, we have mainly been an ILP company. So the linked product portfolio is still strong,” Villahermosa said, noting that the market is largely leaning toward investments.