RP-based insurers upbeat on higher 2010 sales

Insurers are bullish that the insurance industry would nudge up this year after companies paid more than P2 billion worth of insurance premium tax in 2009, up 10 percent from 2008. Canadian-owned Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. Philippines and other members of the umbrella group Philippine Life Insurers Association (PLIA) said they expect premium sales growth of 10 to 15 percent for 2010. The forecast translates to a premium tax of up to P2.3 billion this year. The Philippines has a low insurance penetration rate of 14 percent, said acting Insurance Commission chief Vida Chiong. The low penetration rate showed how the country fares poorly with other Asian countries, unlike economic power houses Japan and Singapore which have an insurance penetration rate of more than 100 percent. Such high penetration rates mean that individuals hold one or more insurance policies under their respective names. Still, low penetration rates mean that only one in eight Filipinos have purchased a policy on risk protection. Thus, there is more room for growth. Deputy Executive Director Joselito Almario of the National Credit Council said a joint public-private initiative offering microinsurance policies to a greater number of Filipinos this year could help improve the country’s insurance penetration rate. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV