FILIPINOS are choosing traditional and guaranteed insurance products instead of riskier investments, prompting insurers like Pru Life UK to diversify their services.
“The markets have obviously been volatile, and that would also mean customer interest and appetites would also have changed,” Pru Life UK chief actuary Beth Villahermosa told reporters on Thursday.
“For the longest time, we have mainly been an investment-linked company. We do see the value, for example, in offering health or protection products that are not tied to how the market is moving,” she noted, saying customers are opting for stability over higher but uncertain returns.
In 2025, about 15 percent of Pru Life UK’s new business came from traditional products, and the remainder still dominated by investment-linked policies. However, the company expects the share of protection-oriented offerings to grow as clients reassess their risk exposure.
It also continues to promote market-linked products, encouraging clients to spread their funds across global multi-asset portfolios, rather than concentrating on local equities.
“Diversification is not just a tool, rather, it‘s the basic strategy that we should have in terms of investing in funds,” Pru Life UK chief investment officer Princess Balingit said, noting that broader asset exposure can help cushion the impact of volatility.
Despite these pressures, Pru Life UK said demand for insurance has remained steady, as financial protection becomes more relevant during uncertain periods.
“The more that [people] face these types of risks... and vulnerabilities, the more [they] understand what protection really means,” Balingit said.
Pru Life UK reported new business annual premium equivalent (Nbape) of P10 billion in 2025, up 2 percent from P9.8 billion in 2024. This kept the company in the top spot, leading the industry by 9.4 percent over the second-ranked player.
Total premium income also grew by 10 percent to P52.8 billion from P48.2 billion a year earlier, giving the company a 13 percent market share.
“Being recognized as the industry leader based on Nbape affirms the trust placed in us by our customers and reinforces our responsibility to continue delivering protection they can count on,” Pru Life UK senior adviser to the CEO Francis Ortega said.
The company processed over 13,400 claims and paid out P2.8 billion to policyholders last year.
