The insurance industry has paid a total of P4.35 billion in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related claims in the first half of the year, according to the Insurance Commission (IC).
About P1.67 billion, or 38 percent of the total, paid by life and non-life insurers, health and maintenance organizations (HMO), and mutual benefit associations (MBA) for the period were claims related to death benefits, the IC said citing a survey it conducted in the industry.
Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa said the survey was designed to assess the continuing financial impact of COVID-19 on the IC regulated entities.
In-patient benefits reached P1.47 billion, or 33 percent, while out-patient claims amounted to P876.60 million, about 20 percent.
“Put together, these three benefits make up 92 percent of the total claims paid,” said Funa.
“In both 2020 and the first semester of 2021, claims for death benefits has the highest amount of COVID-19-related claims paid by insurers, HMOs, and MBAs, followed by in-patient benefits and out-patient benefits,” he added.
“Also worth mentioning is the fact that non-life insurance companies paid P37.60 million in business interruption claims due to the effects of business closures and the imposition of quarantine measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Funa also said.
Funa noted a drastic increase in claims paid from February to April and dipped slightly in June this year, reflecting the reported spike of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines between March and May.
Payouts by the HMO sector constitute 47 percent of the total COVID-19 claim payouts for the period, worth P2.06 billion.
Life insurers paid P1.98 billion, or about 46 percent of the total COVID-19-related claims for the same period.
The non-life insurers paid P119.1 million, about 3 percent, while MBAs paid P191.70 million, or 4 percent of total. – Ruelle Castro
