THE insurance industry in the Philippines is one of the most varied and comprehensive in the Southeast Asian region, and includes not only conventional life and non-life insurance, but also composite companies, pre-need insurers, mutual benefit associations (MBAs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and micro- and macro-insurers. Except for the pre-need segment, which has been gradually shrinking as alternative insurance products are introduced, all of these businesses have enjoyed strong growth in the past decade.
Regulatory developments
The insurance industry is regulated by the Insurance Commission (IC), which was created by the 1974 Insurance Code of the Philippines. The IC's regulatory responsibilities have expanded over the years along with the growth of the industry that introduced new forms of insurance. In 2009, the Pre-need Code placed pre-need insurance under the IC's authority, while Republic Act (RA) 10607, known as the Amended Insurance Code and signed into law in August 2013, changed a number of key requirements for insurers and further expanded the IC's oversight. In 2015, the regulation and supervision of the country's HMOs was also placed under the IC, by an executive order issued by then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd.
