Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines 2011

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From: MoneyTalkPh.com

Every year the Insurance Commission, the government agency that regulates insurance companies in the Philippines, releases relevant reports about the life insurance industry in the Philippines. One of these reports is the ranking of life insurance companies in the Philippines based on different criteria such as premium income, assets, net worth, net income and paid up capital. Out of these criteria, the ranking based on premium income is one of the most popular because it determines which company is leading in terms of insurance sales/revenues. As of December 31, 2011, the leading life insurance company based on premium income is Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) with 13.8 billion pesos in premium income. After many years of just being number 2, Sun Life was able to defeat Philam Life by 300 million pesos in premium income. The two is competing to be at the top but let us see by next year of which company will be number 1. 

Source: Insurance Commission

The Significance of Ranking

Well, this ranking may help Filipinos decide on which company they will get their life insurance. With 34 life insurance companies in the Philippines, it is quite difficult and even confusing to decide which life insurance company to choose. At least with this kind of ranking, Filipinos have some kind of criteria that will help them decide. For example, they may associate the ranking with company stability or market leadership. Filipinos are tired of companies closing down, that is why they want to make sure that they are partnering their future  and security with stable companies.

One of the reasons why Filipinos don't like the idea of life insurance is because they are afraid that the life insurance company will close down just like what happened with few pre-need companies. The Insurance Commission (IC) strictly regulates life insurance companies to protect the public. The agency makes it sure that every life insurance company has enough reserve to pay their obligations to the policyholders. Because the IC is doing a great job, no life insurance company in the Philippines has ever closed down except for mergers and buyouts which are by the way not harmful to policyholders.

What Matters

Even if your life insurance policy is issued by the last company in the list, it doesn't matter. What matters is the ability of your life insurance company to meet its obligations to you as the policyholder and to your beneficiaries in due time.

The Sad Note

The truth is there are still many Filipinos that don't have life insurance especially breadwinners or people with dependents. According to the IC, there are only 3.3 million policies that are in-force in 2010. This does not mean that there are 3.3 million Filipinos with life insurance policies because there are some people who have multiple policies. For example, my wife and I have a total of 4 life insurance policies (plus personal accident insurance from non-life companies) but we think we are not yet adequately covered. There is still a huge market for life insurance products in the Philippines but unless more and more Filipinos are being adequately educated on the importance of life insurance, there would be no significant improvement in the number of Filipino lives insured each year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raymund F. Camat is a licensed Financial Advisor of Sun Life Financial. For your life insurance and financial planning needs, contact him at 09179698062 or email him at raymund.f.camat@sunlife.com.ph. You may also visit his website at http://www.moneytalkph.com. Follow him at http://www.FaceBook.com/MoneyTalkPH.