Major SEA insurance group to enter the Philippine market

The Insurance Commission (IC) has disclosed that a conglomerate from Southeast Asia will set up life and nonlife insurance firms in the Philippines this month. Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said that the licence is now being processed and the company will acquire existing insurers and set up new entities. Though he did not mention the name, Funa said the new insurer can easily afford the PHP1.3bn required capitalisation. The amended Insurance Code has increased insurance companies’ minimum capital requirement to PHP900m as of end-2019, up from PHP550m under Republic Act No. 10607. This will increase further to PHP1.3bn by the end of this year. The IC chief said more than half of insurance companies need to comply with the higher capitalisation to protect them from financial threats.