Philippines insurers prepared for Asean integration, says actuarial firm

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s insurance industry trails Singapore as the most prepared for integration into the Asean Economic Community (AEC), according to a global actuarial provider.

Milliman, a global provider of actuarial and related products and services, said the Philippines ranked second only to Singapore in its ability to adapt to international standards.

The Milliman Asean Liberalization Index (MALI) measures the openness of life insurance regulatory regimes in the 10 Asean countries, ranking their alignment with international standards.

A score of 100 indicates a perfectly liberal market while low scores indicate more tightly controlled industries, with typically less exposure to foreign participation.

The eight features covered in MALI are: product development, distribution, investment, sophistication of capital regime, policyholder protection, foreign ownership, new licences and talent mobility.

Singapore is ranked highest in the index (with a score of 70), achieving the highest score for several of the underlying features, including product development, investment freedom, sophistication of capital regime, availability of new licenses, and talent.

The Philippines received a score of 58, second best among the 10 Asean nations.

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s 10th-place ranking reflects the fact that it remains a ‘closed’ market, with a very nascent life insurance industry.

The leaders in the sector are mainly subsidiaries of global or regional players such AXA of France, Canada’s Sun Life and Manulife Financial, the FWD Group of Hongkong, Pru Life of the United Kingdom, regional giant AIA, and Assicurazioni Generali Group of Italy.