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 1998, the Insurance Commission reported 97 domestic non-life insurance companies, 12 foreign non-life insurance companies and four professional reinsurance companies licensed to operate.  As for intermediaries, the Insurance Commission reported that at December 1999 there were 124 licensed brokers and 32,882 ordinary and general agents.

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 fire tariff has been observed more in the breach than in compliance as it does not reflect prevailing market pricing.  In April 2000 the Insurance Commission allowed each insurer to submit its own rating structure for approval.  This directive was widely interpreted as a step towards the eventual dismantling of the fire tariff.

The Philippine insurance industry is highly dependent on foreign reinsurers because local industry demand for reinsurance exceeds indigenous capacity.