The top life insurance companies in the Philippines are ranked by the Insurance Commission based on essential statistics released by the government every year.

The five criteria to determine the top life insurance companies are:

• Premium income
• Networth
• Net Income
• Assets
• Equivalent Annual Premium Income from New Business.

In this contest, let us rank the top companies in each criterion and get the average equivalence. I did not include the Paid Up Capital because it shows the amount received by the insurer from shareholders in exchange for stocks.

2019 BEST LIFE INSURANCE​ IN PH

To get the rankings, we used two schools of thought: (1) Averaging and (2) Modal. The rankings of each life insurance company per criteria and placed them on a sheet. 

By Averaging: All ranking places of each company were added up and were divided by the total number of criteria. The lower the quotient return means the higher the rank. 

By Modality: Modal computation is somewhat like the Olympics. Each company’s placement or mode per criteria is counted and those that get the highest counts for each placement wins.

1. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL​

Score: 1.4

Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc., has set foot in the country in 1895 and has been servicing Filipinos for more than 125 years now. Its main headquarters is based in Canada and is offering a diverse range of financial products such as insurance, wealth, and asset management.

Statistically, Sun Life is officially the first and longest-standing life-insurer in the Philippines. It went through World Wars and even went underground during the Imperial Japanese occupation.

Based the latest statistics of the government’s Insurance Commission, Sun Life is top 1 in the following criteria:

• NBAPE – Top 1
• Premium Income – Top 1
• NET Income – Top 1

Sun Life also tops the ranking if you compute by mean or ranking frequencies. 

How stable is Sun Life?

• It celebrated its 121st year in the Philippines this 2021;
• It’s awarded #1 insurance company 9 years in a row;
• Is it accessible? More than 81 branches nationwide and numerous ISO offices, plus a battalion of Advisors;
• Sun Life has paid P4.7 billions in claims and maturities last 2019. Claims can be done via online portals, via telephone, via ISO offices, or via Advisors.
• SSS invested 3 billion in mutual funds which include Sun Life.

2. PHIL-AM LIFE

Score: 3.4​

Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (commonly known by its trade name, Philam Life) started its operations in the Philippines in 1947. It is part of the AIA, a publicly-listed pan-Asian life insurance group. Philam Life offers products ranging from life insurance, medical insurance, credit/company insurance, to wealth management. 

Based the latest statistics of the government’s Insurance Commission, Philam Life is top 1 in the following criteria:

• NET Worth – Top 1
• Assets – Top 1

3. AXA LIFE

Score: 4​

Axa Life is part of the global company, Axa Group, which was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Paris, France. The group traces its roots back to 1816 under different names. 

AXA conducts its business in five segments: Life & Savings, Property & Casualty, International Insurance, Asset Management and Banking. 

The Life & Savings segment offers products including individual and group savings products, life and health products for both individual and commercial clients.

In the 2019 rankings, Axa Philippines garnered 3rd ranks in New Business Income and Premium Income, 4th ranks in Net Income and Assets, and 6th rank in Net worth. Both by mean and mode computation, Axa gained the 4th spot as best life insurance in the Philippines.

• NBAPE – Top 3
• Premium Income – Top 3
• Networth – Top 6
• Net Income – Top 4
• Assets – Top 4

4. PRU LIFE UK

Score: 4.6​

Established in 1996, Pru Life UK is the pioneer of insuravest, or investment-linked life insurance products, in the Philippines and is one of the first life insurance companies approved to distribute US dollar-denominated investment-linked life insurance policies in the country. Since its establishment, Pru Life UK has expanded its reach to over 190 branches in the Philippines, with the biggest life agency force of more than 32,000 licensed agents.

The company is also ranked second (2nd) among life insurers based on the Insurance Commission’s 2019 rankings in terms of new business annual premium equivalent and total premium income. Pru Life UK is headquartered in Uptown Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Pru Life UK and Prudential plc are not affiliated with Prudential Financial, Inc. of the United States, Prudential Assurance Company (a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom), Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company, Prudentialife Plans, Inc. or Prudential Guarantee and Assurance, Inc. (all Philippine-registered companies). Pru Life UK is a life insurance company and is not engaged in the business of selling pre-need plans.

Pru Life UK is a life insurance company and is not engaged in the business of selling pre-need plans. It is registered with the Insurance Commission under Certificate of Authority No. 2019/69-R. Its primary Philippine office is located at 9/F Uptown Place Tower 1, 1 East 11th Drive, Uptown Bonifacio, 1634 Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

• NBAPE – Top 2
• Premium Income – Top 2
• Net Income – Top 3

4. MANULIFE

Score: 4.6​

Manulife Philippines is an insurance company dedicated to helping you find solutions to help you achieve your dreams and goals. We are a subsidiary of Manulife Financial based in Canada, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. As a leading insurance provider in the country, we’re proud to offer flexible and innovative solutions for your financial needs.

• NBAPE – Top 4
• Premium Income – Top 4
• Networth – Top 4

Manulife Financial Corporation​

With headquarters in Canada, we’re proud to take care of the financial and protection needs of more than 28 million customers worldwide, providing a wide range of insurance, investment, wealth management, and financial planning services. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of December 31, 2019, we had $1.2 trillion (US$0.9 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months, we made $29.7 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada, and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.