The Philippine insurance sector has reported record-high profits for 2018, with all sectors encountering increased premium income, the Insurance Commission said.

In a report by the Philippine Star, Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said that the market’s net profit for 2018 grew by 3% to PHP37.43 billion (US$710 million), based on unaudited reports sent by insurers to the regulator. Total premium income increased by 11.67% to PHP290.15 billion (US$5.53 billion).

The life insurance sector brought in PHP228.61 billion in premiums, almost 13% higher than the previous year. Life business made up close to 79% of the entire insurance industry’s premium income. Meanwhile, the non-life insurance sector posted a 4.6% increase in premiums.

Motor insurance premiums grew by 8.55% to PHP26.9 billion, and made up over half of non-life premiums.

“Despite the slight year-on-year decrease in the total assets of the life insurance sector, the industry’s overall assets reached an all-time high,” Funa said. “The life insurance sector continues to hold the bulk of the assets of the industry with PHP1.26 trillion in assets or 79.75% of the total assets of the industry, while the non-life insurance sector and [mutual benefit associations] shared the remaining 20.25%.”