SUN Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc. was the top life insurer in 2017 based on premium income with P32.11 billion, the Insurance Commission (IC) said on Thursday.
The IC released the list of top life insurers in 2017 in terms of net premiums, new business premiums, net income, assets, and net worth based on firms’ audited annual statements.
Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp. was second, with P26.18 billion in net premiums last year.
BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp. (BPI-Philam) ranked third with P20.33 billion in net premiums, followed by Philippine American Life & General Insurance Co., (Philam Life) with P19.90 billion, and Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK (Pru Life UK) with P19.22 billion.
The top five firms kept their 2016 rankings. The life insurance industry overall had a combined premium income of P202.77 billion last year, 10.89% higher than the P182.86 billion recorded in 2016.
In terms of premiums from new policies, Sun Life remained on top with annual new business premiums worth P6.64 billion in 2017, followed by AXA Philippines with P5.36 billion, Pru Life UK with P4.81 billion, Philam Life with P4.17 billion, and BPI-Philam with P3.88 billion.
Sun Life also booked the highest net income among life insurers in 2017 with P7.03 billion, jumping from its seventh spot finish in 2016.
Philam Life was second with P6.15 billion, followed by Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd. with P4.02 billion, Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines) with P3.07 billion, and AXA Philippines with P2.36 billion. These firms all saw their ranks go down by a notch from 2016.
“The reported net income of the top players accounts for 80.53% of the total net
income of the life insurance industry in 2017,” the Insurance Commission said.
Meanwhile, Philam Life retained its top rank in terms of totals assets in 2017, booking P259.48 billion.
Sun Life followed with P232.77 billion worth of assets, Insular Life with P137.38 billion, and AXA Philippines with P113.70 billion, who all retained their respective second, third, and fourth ranks from 2016.
BPI-Philam meanwhile went up to the fifth spot from sixth in 2016 as it recorded P103.42 billion in total assets in 2017, overtaking Pru Life.
On the other hand, Philam Life booked the highest net worth last year at P77.53 billion, followed by Insular Life’s P38.27 billion, Sun Life’s P27.28 billion, Manulife Philippines’ P14.07 billion, and United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp.’s P7.56 billion. The rankings were unchanged from 2016.
“By end of 2019, existing insurance companies are required to increase their respective net worth to P900 million coming from the existing minimum of P550 million. This is the penultimate mandatory increase in minimum net worth requirement as required under the Insurance Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 10607,” the IC said.
The law also mandates insurance companies to increase the net worth further to P1.3 billion by December 2022. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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