The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands and islets in the western Pacific Ocean.
The country's topography consists of 34,600 kms of discontinuous coastline, with mountainous regions surrounding major lowland plains. It has a tropical climate, with alternating dry and monsoon seasons.
Our government is made up of three branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The President is the Head of State, and the Legislative branch is made up of the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (House of Representatives).
Insurance
The insurance industry in the Philippines is governed by the Insurance Code of 1978 and is under the supervision of the Insurance Commission, which forms part of the Department of Finance. As of 2008, the Insurance Commission reported 85 non-life insurance companies, three composite (Life and Non-Life) and one professional reinsurance company licensed to operate. As for intermediaries, the Insurance Commission reported that as of February 2009 there were 66 licensed brokers.
The Philippine insurance industry was subject to protectionist policies prior to 1995, with the Philippines now being a signatory to the World Trade Organization accord. One of the results of this liberalisation process was the entry of new foreign insurers either as wholly-owned subsidiaries or as joint-venture companies with local partners.
Fire, motor and surety lines are subject to tariff. The Insurance Commission is responsible for the formulation and enforcement of the tariffs. The Commission relies on input provided by the Technical Committee of the Philippine Insurance Rating Association (PIRA). The PIRA is composed of the non-life insurance companies operating in the Philippines and was established to provide industry statistics and other information required by the Insurance Commission and its member companies.
The Philippine insurance industry is highly dependent on foreign reinsurers because local industry demand for reinsurance exceeds indigenous capacity.
