Philippine pre-need income plunges 88% in Q1 2026

The industry still sold 244,233 plans in the first quarter of 2026.

The Philippine pre-need industry net income dropped by 88.05% to $2.2m (P0.14b) in the first quarter of the year (Q1 2026).

Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado attributed the decline to lower earnings from trust funds, caused by global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, market volatility, and inflation pressures affecting financial markets.

The net income was down from $18.7m (P1.17b) in the first quarter of last year.

However, the industry grew its asset base and sales in Q1 2026, though profits fell sharply due to weaker market investment returns.

Figures released by the Insurance Commission show the industry's total net worth rose by 12.18% to $517.8m (P32.36b), up from $461.4m (P28.84b) in the same period last year.

Regalado also said that this growth was driven by an 18.99% increase in retained earnings, which made up 77.74% of the total net worth.

Total assets grew by 9.60% to $2.9b (P179.32b), up from $2.6b (P163.61b) a year earlier, led by investments in trust funds, which accounted for 85.79% of all assets.

Meanwhile, total liabilities rose by 9.05% to $2.4b (P146.96b), mainly because pre-need reserves increased by 9.32% to make up 90.91% of the industry's total liabilities.

Total premium income increased by 12.31% to $104.5m (P6.53b) from $93.1m (P5.82b) in the first quarter of 2025.

Demand also rose, with the number of plans sold increasing by 11.92% to 244,233 plans. Life and memorial plans made up 99.92% of these sales.

($1.00 = P61.45)