Microinsurance industry premiums rise

THE INSURANCE Commission said the microinsurance industry’s premium production climbed in the first nine months of 2019. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE MICROINSURANCE industry grew in the first nine months of the year on the back of higher premium production and expanded client base, the Insurance Commission (IC) data showed.

The IC reported on Monday that the microinsurance industry’s overall premium production climbed 11.99% to P6.58 billion in the January-September period from the P5.87 billion it posted a year ago.

Broken down, the mutual benefit associations (MBA) sector posted a 15.06% growth in premium production to P3.91 billion in the nine months to September compared to the P3.39 billion in premiums earned in the same period in 2018.

The life insurance sector also grew its total premiums by 4.16% to P1.95 billion as of end-September from the P1.88 billion in the same comparable period last year.

Likewise, the nonlife sector’s number of premiums produced increased 19.08% to P719.97 million from the P604.63 million a year ago.

In terms of coverage, preliminary data based on the quarterly reports submitted to the IC showed that the industry has 40 million individuals covered by microinsurance as of end-September.

Of this total, the MBA contributed the bulk or 62% as it covered 25 million members in the nine months to September.

This was followed by the eight million clients covered by the life insurance sector, which was lower than the 11 million it had in the same period last year.

The nonlife sector contributed 17.5% of the total as it expanded its number of clients covered to seven million from four million in 2018, up 74% year on year.

In the MBA sector, CARD MBA, Inc. contributed the lion’s share at 80% of the total clients insured and 82% in premium production.

Fot the life insurance sector, CLIMBS Life and General Insurance Cooperative and Pioneer Life, Inc. were among the firms to record the most number of clients insured and premiums produced.

Meanwhile, Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corp. had the highest number of individuals covered while the CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc., ranked first in terms of premium production in the nonlife insurance sector. — B.M. Laforga