Insurance Commission (IC) Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado on Friday underscored the urgent need to further strengthen microinsurance offerings to aggressively expand insurance coverage among more Filipinos.

Under Republic Act No. 10607, or the Insurance Code, microinsurance is defined as “a financial product or service that meets the risks protection needs of the poor.”

Premiums are strictly capped at no more than 7.5 percent of the daily minimum wage for non-agricultural workers in Metro Manila, while guaranteed benefits are limited to no more than 1,000 times the same daily wage.

In a media interview, Regalado made it clear that the domestic insurance industry continues to grow, despite persistent gaps that must be addressed.

While full-year 2025 data have yet to be released, the total net worth of life and non-life insurance companies and mutual benefit associations (MBAs) already surged to P525.97 billion as of end-September last year, up 8.49 percent from P484.82 billion in the same period in 2024.

The number of licensed insurance companies fell sharply to 130 as of the third quarter, down from 137 a year earlier.

Insurance penetration remained stubbornly low, sitting at 1.85 percent as of end-September, although this marked an improvement from 1.74 percent in the previous year.

Regalado said the goal is to finally break the 2 percent barrier through closer and more decisive coordination with industry stakeholders.

He said microinsurance already represents a significant share of insurance offerings and must be pushed harder to drive real financial inclusion.

“We are set to discuss all these means with the Cooperative Development Authority. This is a good entry to communities,” he added.

Regalado said they will also ramp up operations in their Cebu and Davao offices and move forward with opening a new office in Baguio by the second quarter this year to forcefully expand community outreach.