Philippines’ insurance penetration improves to 1.7%

The average insurance spending per capita, likewise, climbed to $66.2.

The Philippine insurance industry’s fourth quarter (Q4 2024) total premiums increased by 12.81% year-on-year (YoY), whilst net income and benefits paid rose by 15.88% and 18.97%, respectively, data from the Insurance Commission showed.

Insurance penetration, which measures premiums as a percentage of GDP, improved by 0.06 percentage points to 1.67%, reflecting the faster growth of insurance premiums compared to the economy’s 8.84% expansion at current prices. 

Insurance density, or the average insurance spending per capita, rose by 12.58% to $66.18 (₱3,892.77), outpacing the country’s 0.20% population growth.

Aggregate premiums grew from $6.64b (₱390.39b) in Q4 2023 to $7.49b (₱440.39b) in Q4 2024. Net income increased from $826.86m (₱48.58b) to $957.93m (₱56.29b), whilst benefits paid surged from $2.29b (₱134.76b) to $2.73b (₱160.33b), based on unaudited Enhanced Quarterly Reports on Selected Financial Statistics (EQRSFS) submitted by life and non-life insurers and mutual benefit associations (MBAs).  

Investments also saw positive growth, with total invested assets rising by 7.23% to $37.40b (₱2.20t), and total assets expanding by 6.43% to $41.82b (₱2.46t). 

The data was based on submissions from 128 of the 137 licensed insurers and MBAs.  

($1.00 = ₱58.20)