Q1 income of insurers, MBAs surge 45.8%

The combined profit of the country’s insurers and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) jumped 45.8 percent year-on-year to P11.9 billion in the first quarter as sales grew on the back of available online channels plus more awareness on insurance amid the prolonged pandemic.

In a statement on Friday, the Insurance Commission (IC) said the net income of life and nonlife insurance firms as well as MBAs as of end-March climbed from P8.1 billion a year ago.

These three sectors’ aggregate premiums or sales rose 27.8 percent to P99.9 billion from P78.2 billion during the first three months of last year.

Their investments also grew 16.5 percent year-on-year to P1.67 trillion, while the industry’s total assets increased 15 percent to P1.89 trillion.

“Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the upward trends in the respective

performance indicators of the life and nonlife insurance sectors and the MBA sector are very good news not only for such industries but for the Philippine economy as well,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said.

Funa attributed the insurance industry’s first-quarter growth performance to three things: players’ quick shift to digital insurance technologies or InsurTech; institutionalization of remote selling online; and sustained health insurance services even during the imposition of strict COVID-19 lockdowns.

The latest IC data showed that life insurance companies generated P9.4 billion in net income during the first quarter, up 38.2 percent year-on-year. The life sector’s total premium income grew 36.6 percent year-on-year to P83.2 billion mainly due to a 47.8-percent jump in variable life insurance alongside growth in single premiums, renewal premiums, as well as traditional life insurance premiums, Funa said.

Meanwhile, nonlife players’ first-quarter net income jumped 626.2 percent year-on-year to P1.19 billion, even surpassing the prepandemic profit of P1.04 billion in the first three months of 2019. This was despite year-on-year declines in total gross premiums written, net premiums written and premiums earned, which Funa said were partially offset by the growth posted by the casualty, engineering and health insurance lines. INQ