Manila: Insurance penetration and insurance density experienced an upward trend in the second quarter, the Insurance Commission (IC) reported on Monday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the IC stated that insurance penetration increased to 1.79 percent in the second quarter, up from 1.71 percent in the same period last year. Insurance penetration is defined as the ratio of insurance premiums to the gross domestic product (GDP), and the IC attributed this rise to the high growth rate of premium collection by insurance companies.

Additionally, insurance density, which measures the average spending of each individual on insurance, climbed by 12.07 percent to PHP2,137.32. The data from the IC revealed that total premiums paid for both life and non-life insurance products reached PHP242.84 billion as of the end of June, marking a 12.98 percent increase compared to the total premiums collected during the same six-month period last year.

Specifically, insurance premiums for life insurance products saw a 12.01 percent rise to PHP195.05 billion, with a significant portion allocated to variable life insurance products. Meanwhile, premiums for general (non-life) insurance products increased by 20.48 percent to PHP39.63 billion.

The IC highlighted, "This considerable increase was driven by a rise in Total Premiums that exceeded the population growth rate of 0.87%. The growth suggests a higher level of adoption and use of insurance services within the population as of the quarter."

Furthermore, total contributions to mutual benefit associations (MBAs) rose by 3.09 percent to PHP8.16 billion. The IC also noted that total benefit payments by the insurance industry increased by 1.18 percent to PHP77.57 billion from the previous PHP76.67 billion.

In terms of financial outcomes, the total net income of the industry rose by 3.62 percent to PHP28.78 billion. Additionally, total invested assets grew by 10.7 percent to PHP2.26 trillion, up from PHP2.04 trillion.