The Best Life Insurance in the Philippines for Millennials

Life insurance has been available in our country for more than a century already when Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) first introduced it to us in 1895.


Yet there are still a lot of working Filipinos who don’t have life insurance and some don’t even know what it is.

Why? Maybe TikTok is life. 😄


But whatever the reason is, I’m here to explain it to you in the simplest way I know and share with you what I think is the best life insurance for working Millennials like us.


If you’re not a Millenial anymore, that’s okay and just pretend you’re one. 😉

What is life insurance and how does it work?

Life insurance is something you would buy if there are people who depend on you financially. It may be your parents, your spouse and children, or other family members.

Life insurance will provide a sum of money called the Face amount to your dependents if something unexpected happens to you, like death or disability.

This will provide them financial support that can be used for their daily expenses or to pay off debts brought by the insured’s inability to provide income.

For you to have life insurance, you need to pay a fee called Premium in a specific set of times depending on the plan you’re going to purchase. But even if you don’t have dependents yet, there are products you can buy to cover health expenses, prepare for your retirement or to grow your money through investment-linked insurance. 

But first, let me give you the three main types of life insurance available to choose from in the Philippines.

---

What are the three main types of life insurance?

1. VUL

Yes I made this on top of the list being the most popular especially for working Millennials. Variable universal life insurance serves both life protection and investment.

A portion of the premiums will be for the insurance and others will be allocated into various investment vehicles like bonds, stocks, and money market funds.

2. Term life insurance 

This is the most affordable type of insurance because it only covers you for a specific period of time. The term usually ranges from 1 year to 30 years, and in case of death within the term period, your beneficiary receives the death benefit.

If you live beyond the term period, coverage ends and you get nothing back. This is also a pure life insurance meaning there are no dividends or investment returns. 

3. Whole life insurance 

This type of insurance covers your entire life or until age 100. The premiums are pricier compared to term life insurance but it provides more benefits like loans, dividends, and cash value.


Some policies will also give you the Face amount of the insurance policy if you live past 100 years old. That is if you live until 101 years old which is quite hard to attain especially if you’re not Cardo Dalisay or Juan Ponce Enrile 😊

Since you already know the types of life insurance, the next question now is where can we buy these here in the Philippines?



I will give you the list of the Top 10 life insurance companies based on their assets.

Asset calculation includes all the available properties of every kind or possession of a Life Insurance Company that might be used to pay its debts.

Why assets?

Because life insurance is a lifelong investment and you need to make sure that the company where you are going to buy this can fulfill its obligations even after calamities, pandemic, or recession.

You don’t want to experience what happened to CAP, do you?

For those who don’t know the story, in 2008, CAP or College Assurance Plan, the largest pre-need company back then went bankrupt and filed for rehabilitation.

It was not able to fulfill its obligations to thousands of its plan holders who were expecting their plans to help them in their children’s education. We don’t want to experience that kind of trouble right. So it pays to know where we put our hard-earned money.

---

Top 10 Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines

(based on its Assets of 2018, data released by Insurance Commission) 

1. Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, Inc. (Philam Life) 

Founded in 1947, Philam life is one of the most popular insurance companies in the Philippines. It has total assets of P247,026,381,014 making it on top of the list.


It also has a lot of financial advisors who give convenience in buying their products. They are also very active in promoting health and fitness through their Philam vitality mobile app. Its main office is located in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

2. Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), lnc.

Founded in 1895, Sun Life Financial is the first life insurance company in the Philippines. It is also one of the most popular and has the largest pool of financial advisors.


It has total assets of P222,879,268,495. Their headquarters is located in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. 

3. lnsular Life Assurance Company, Ltd.

Founded in 1910, Insular life is the first Filipino life insurance company. It has total assets of P131,491,464,989.

Insular life has been ramping up their products online. You can buy some of their products at their flagship store in Lazada.  Its main headquarters is located at Insular Life Corporate Centre, Alabang, Muntinlupa. 

4. Philippine AXA Life Insurance, Corp.

Established in 1999, AXA Philippines is one of the first to introduce bancassurance operations in the country.

You can inquire about their products at Metrobank and PS Bank branches since they are part of GT Capital conglomerate who partly owns AXA Philippines. They have total assets of P115,322,078,774. The company is headquartered in Makati City.

5. BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation

Established in 1933, the BPI-Philam Life used to be known as Ayala Life Assurance Incorporated. It is a joint venture of The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philam Life) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

This makes it easier to inquire about their products since you just need to go to a BPI branch which is scattered everywhere. Its assets stood at P101,307,388,529. Their main office is located in Ayala Ave., Makati City.

6. Manufacturers Life lnsurance Company (Phils.), lnc. (Manulife Philippines)

Manulife Philippines is a subsidiary of Canadian based life insurance company,  Manulife Financial Corporation. It was in 1907 when it received its license to engage in business in the Philippines.

It has total assets of P95,119,052,440. Its main office is located in Ayala Ave., Makati City.

7. PRU Life lnsurance Corporation of U.K.

Pru life U.K. is a subsidiary of Prudential plc which is a British multinational life insurance and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.


They are also selling their products online through their Prushoppe website. Pru Life U.K. has total assets of P94,814,118,166. 

8. Sun Life GREPA Financial, lnc. (Sun Life Grepa)

Sun Life GREPA is a joint venture between the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) and Sun Life Financial Philippines (Sun Life). It is formerly known as Grepalife Financial, the flagship life insurance firm of YGC established in 1954. It has a total asset of P45,693,651,019. Its main office is located in Makati City.

9. BDO Life Assurance Company, lnc.

BDO Life Assurance is formerly Generali Pilipinas Holding Co. Inc., BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest bank to date acquired the company in 2016 and is currently operating as a subsidiary of the bank.

With this, you can definitely inquire about their products at BDO Branches. It has a total asset of P41,262,610,913. Their main office is located in Makati City.

10. Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corporation

This life insurance company is a strategic alliance between Manulife Philippines and China Bank.



It provides a wide range of innovative insurance products and services to China Bank customers. It has total assets of P34,524,533,275. Its headquarters is located in Makati City. 

By now I’m sure you already have choices in mind where to buy your life insurance. I’m not saying that you should not look for products offered by other companies that are not included on the list. You can freely look into their website or ask their financial advisors about their products.

But I strongly recommend looking at the top 10 first. They have a wide range of good products and they are on the list for a reason.

 

Now that you already know what life insurance is, its types, and the companies offering these products, I’m going to give you an idea of what life insurance a working Millennial should buy.

---

Should Non-working Millennials Get Life Insurance?

But before anything else, you might notice that I added the word “working”, does it mean a millennial who doesn’t work should not buy life insurance?

Hmmm, YES.

Only those who have work or income should buy it. Why?

Because how can you pay the premiums if you don’t have an income? But I’m still studying you might say, then you can ask your parents or older siblings to buy it for you. In that case they will be the policy owner and you will be the insured.

How about a Millennial who doesn’t need to work because their family is super-rich, then I think they don’t need life insurance for the purpose of income protection. Some filthy rich people buy insurance for the purpose of dodging estate taxes, but that is for another topic I guess.

According to the Pew Research Center, millennials are typically ages 23 to 38. And by this age, you are probably finished your degree or you are already working.

Some financial advisors will send you messages on social media saying they will help you manage your finances and later on they will offer insurance products, or you could be the one who will approach them first which what I did 😉.  

---

What type of Life Insurance is Best for Millennials?

In my humble opinion, Health insurance or Critical Illness insurance is the best insurance a working millennial should buy first. This type of insurance falls in the category of Whole life insurance.

Why do I consider this as the best?

Imagine this, what will you do if you are diagnosed with a life-threatening disease like Cancer? Chronic Liver disease? Kidney failure? Will your savings or emergency fund enough to pay for your medication and bills?

Will your parents be able to support you? Or do you have any assets like land or car that can be sold or liquidated in case this happens?

If none, then read on as I provide the benefits of this type of insurance product. 

Critical illness insurance covers illnesses that are already severe or chronic. This type of insurance will provide you the face amount of your policy once you are diagnosed with one of the covered illnesses. Meaning this is the type of insurance that you as the insured may get to benefit from it.


Okay you might be thinking that you are too young and healthy to have those illnesses. But that’s the beauty of getting this type of insurance at a young age because you are still healthy.


Insurance companies will not insure you anymore if you are already diagnosed with those illnesses or even have the symptoms of it, in case they do, they will ask you to pay a hefty premium.


And getting this at a younger age will definitely give you a lower premium rate. 

I will give you my top three Critical Illness insurance products that are available in our country.

---

3 Best Life Insurance for Working Millennials in the Philippines

1. AIA Critical Protect 100 by Philam life

AIA Critical Protect 100 is the first insurance product I got. It covers 100 major and minor critical illnesses until age 100.


You can only claim once on major critical illness for 100% face amount of the policy and one minor critical illness (in case this comes first) for 25% of the total face amount.


I also find this product very simple and straightforward. If ever I will not get sick with the illnesses covered until age 100, it will still serve as life insurance and the death benefit will be given to my beneficiaries in case of my death.


If ever I will live beyond 100 years old without claiming on my insurance, aside from automatic membership into Juan Ponce Enrile’s Truly Immortal Rich Club (sorry Bro. Bo, I think that’s a better club) I will get the total face amount of my policy plus the Php100,000  promised by our government (I’ll make sure I will not forget this). 😃


There’s also a cash value depending on the years of existence of the Policy which I can loan or get if ever I decided to terminate the Policy.


It also features the Philam Vitality, which is an app-based wellness program that gives users rewards and incentives for practicing a healthy, fit lifestyle.

You can redeem rewards weekly (currently P200 in amount) that can be used for coffee at CBTL, SM Cinema tickets, GrabCar vouchers, Globe postpaid and prepaid, and Gcash.


Philam Vitality also provides additional coverage. The highest that you can attain is Gold status which gives you additional 50% coverage or P500,000 if the face amount of your policy is 1 Million for a total of 1.5 Million Face amount for no additional premium.

2. SUN Fit and Well by Sunlife

SUN Fit and Well is a very comprehensive Health insurance product. It covers 98 major and minor critical illnesses and 16 specific cancer conditions until age 100.


You can only claim once for major critical illness, which is equal to 100% of the total face amount and the policy terminates.


If it’s just a minor critical illness, you can claim up to three times but only 20% of your face amount provided that if the first two (2) claims are other than angioplasty or other invasive treatment for coronary artery disease, the third claim will just be 10% of the Original Face Amount.


At age 65, you will receive cash benefits equal to 5% of your face amount for 8 consecutive years (P50,000 per year for 1M face amount) giving you an additional income stream you can use during your retirement years. This cash benefit will be deducted on your total face amount.


You will also receive Special Paid-Up bonus at the end of the premium paying period, and annual dividend earnings thereafter (amounts are not guaranteed), which may be withdrawn anytime or left with Sun Life to accumulate.


There’s also a daily income benefit involving hospital confinement but this should be due to critical Illness covered.


Your beneficiaries will still get the face amount of your policy in case of your death even if not due to the illnesses covered.

3. Set for Health by FWD

Set for Health is a game-changer Health insurance product. Although it only covers 42 Critical illnesses and all forms of advanced cancer, you can claim up to 3 times on major critical illnesses for 100% each of the total face amount and only once on minor critical illnesses for 25 % of the face amount until age 75.


They will also waive your future premiums if you get diagnosed with your first major critical illness. Meaning if you choose to pay your plan for a 20-year option, and on year 5 you get diagnosed, you don’t need to pay the remaining premiums anymore and you will be covered until age 75 or until you maxed out your claims.


How about giving back all of your premiums paid if there are no claims until age 75? Yeah? Yes. They will. And I think that’s a good motivation for you to take care of your health seriously.


And also the life insurance protection in case of death even if not due to the covered illnesses.

I did not include all the features, riders, benefits, list of critical illnesses covered, exclusions, and all other important things about these three products because this is not a product review.


Have you seen an insurance policy? If I included all of that information here this would look like an Ebook. I just want to give you an idea what are the benefits you may get if you choose a Health insurance product specifically Critical Illness insurance.


There are a lot of Health insurance products on the market and I think those three are the best. I’m recommending these not because I’m right or correct but to lessen your time in searching.


But feel free to look at other products and don’t hesitate to share it with us if you find a better one. Thanks for reading! 😊