Learn About the Insurance Industry in The Philippines

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c89550) has announced the
addition of "Philippines Insurance Report Q1 2008" to their offering.

The Philippines Insurance Report provides independent forecasts
and competitive intelligence on Philippines' insurance industry.

This report differs from its predecessors in that it includes
BMI's Insurance Business Environment Rating (IBER). The rating brings
together a number of pieces of relevant quantitative data, together
with BMI's Country Risk Rating (CRR). It is now much easier to
consider the business environment for the insurance sector in any one
country relative to the business environment for other industries in
that country that are surveyed by BMI, and the business environment
for the insurance sector in other countries.

The Philippines IBER is 51.4. Relative to other countries in the
Asia Pacific it is a medium-sized market, although much less-developed
than its immediate neighbours. Regionally it equates to Indonesia in
terms of penetration and density. Its IBER is significantly held back
by a heavy bureaucratic and tax burden in a generally unhelpful
regulatory environment. The Philippines stands out for its highly
fragmented insurance market.

Over the forecast period, we anticipate that non-life premiums
will grow by 20% annually in local currency terms and by 10% in US$
terms. Life premiums are expected to increase by 6% annually in local
currency terms and by 9% in US$ terms.

The key drivers of growth in the non-life segment in 2007-2012 are
the anticipated rise in nominal GDP from around US$141.4bn to
US$196.9bn. Nevertheless in non-life penetration from is expected to
be sluggish from around 0.65% to 0.75% of GDP. Life penetration is
likely to perform even worse rising from 0.85% to 0.94% over the
period. However, life density is expected to be the key driver of
growth with the envisaged rise from a miniscule US$14.02 per capita in
2007 to US$20 per capita in 2012. The Philippines' total population is
growing slowly.

The competitive landscape, in both the non-life and the life
segment, is extremely fragmented by any comparison. Both segments are
open to participation by foreign groups and these have been prepared
to overlook the challenges of doing business in the Philippines,
possibly because their ability to insure offshore against risks in the
country give them an advantage over local groups.

The Philippines insurance sector has relatively few barriers to
entry and has tried and tested strong brands that have weathered many
adverse conditions in the market over the year. It is, however,
extremely fragmented in both in the life and non-life segments.
Perhaps the most significant obstacle the industry faces is the heavy
tax burden put on premiums which erodes corporate profit margins and
discourages new customers. Combined with this, the economy is expected
to continue a slowdown and there are ongoing security and stability
concerns in the country. Notwithstanding these negatives, with low
penetration rates there is obviously room for growth should other
issues be successfully dealt with.

Topics Covered:

The Sector At A Glance

SWOT Analysis

Latest News

Country Update

Political Outlook

Regional Context

Analysis Of Competitive Conditions

Philippines - Life Segment

Methodology

For more information, visit
here

Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353 1 4100 980

Copyright Business Wire 2008