An executive of BDO Life Assurance Company Inc. said Thursday the steady growth in new life insurance premiums is a boon to the Philippine economy.
“The steady rise of life insurance sales over the years clearly indicates the growing awareness of the importance of insurance protection among Filipinos,” said BDO Life president and chief executive Renato Vergel De Dios said.
He said with more Filipinos recognizing the value of life insurance protection, BDO expects bancassurance to remain a consistent, complementary contributor to its overall financial services business.
The Insurance Commission (IC) recently reported that the life insurance sector’s total premium revenues of P229.9 billion through the third quarter of 2023, with annual premium equivalent (APE) premiums on new insurance sales of P46.6 billion, increased by 13.9 percent from the same period in 2022.
APE is the annual total value of all single and recurring premium policies. The growth in new life premiums comes from the sale of “good old fashioned” traditional life insurance.
As sales of variable life insurance eased, owing to the volatility of equity markets the past several years, life companies have turned to traditional life sales to shore up new business.
“Acquiring life insurance coverage goes well beyond securing a family’s financial future,” said Vergel De Dios, a veteran insurance practitioner.
Life insurers are among the largest corporate investors in the country, given their access to long-term capital.
“We hope that our investments as an industry create ample material and local job opportunities down the road so as to help minimize the need for Filipinos to endure isolation from their loved ones in search of meaningful work abroad,” said Vergel De Dios.
BDO Life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest bank to date.
BDO Life posted strong business recovery in 2022 to claim the 4th spot in new sales, measured in terms of new business annual premium equivalents (NBAPE)—a weighted measure of premiums from new business.
The company offers protection, health, education, savings, retirement and estate planning solutions aimed to create a secure future for its individual customers and their families.
