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The
INSULAR LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY, Ltd. is the first and
the largest Pilipino life insurance company.
Established on November 25, 1910, It has been providing
financial security to generations of Filipinos for the last
95 years of unbroken service. Its pioneering ventures
include the introduction of group insurance, industrial life
insurance, and the direct marketing of life insurance in the
country. It was the first to establish a training school for
insurance and it was the first to lower premium rates. Its biggest
achievement, however, was its conversion from a stock company owned
by a few stockholders to a mutual company where policyholders of the
company share in its profits and receive dividends which, in effect,
reduce the cost of insurance. In 2004 alone, Insular Life
distributed P3.7 billion benefits to its policyholders. Insular
Life is the first and to date the only Filipino mutual life
insurance company. Today, the company stands solidly on assets of
over P44.2 billion with life insurance business-in-force of
P191.4 billion. Its marketing and servicing network is the
most extensive among life insurance companies in the country,
consisting of 207 regional, district and service offices and general
agencies nationwide.
In 1991, in order to offer policyholders a broader range of
financial services, Insular Life established four wholly-owned
subsidiaries, namely,
Insular Health Care, Inc. or I-Care, a health
maintenance organization; Insular General Insurance Company or
I-Gen, a general insurance company; Insular Investment and Trust
Company or IITC, an investment house; and Insular Savings Bank or
IS-Bank, a savings bank. It also holds 21% equity in Union Bank of
the Philippines and an 18 percent equity in Pilipinas Shell
Petroleum Corporation, where it is the biggest single Filipino
stockholder. Other equity investments include Keppel Philippines,
Subic Shipyard, PLDT, Insular Century Hotel Davao, Medical City
General Hospital, Asian Hospital & Medical Center and several realty firms.
Historical Highlights:
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1910 Insular Life was incorporated and organized as the first
Pilipino life insurance company on November 25, 1910.
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1921 Business in-force exceeded P 10 Million.
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1932 Insular Life was commended by then Governor - General Theodore
Roosevelt Jr. for its contribution to the Philippine economy, citing
that its operations were a "great stabilizing influence.
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1934 The Honolulu branch was opened in Hawaii, making Insular Life
the first Pilipino insurance company to operate overseas.
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1938 The first district office was established
in Cebu City.
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1942 Insular Life continued operations despite the outbreak of World
War II, earning the distinction of being the life insurance company
with the longest unbroken service record.
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1945 Insular Life lost more than 92% of its bank deposits as a
result of the government's move to nullify all bank balances in
order to rehabilitate banking institutions in the country.
The company could have conveniently declared bankruptcy and
afterwards open a new company to start afresh. But realizing the
damage such a recourse would have inflicted on the public's faith in
the insurance industry, IL chose to pay its contractual obligations
and continue its operations. Policies with premiums paid during the
war with '"Mickey Mouse" currency were deemed in force and almost P
1M were paid out to beneficiaries of policyholders who died during
the war.
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1954 Insular Life lowered its premiums, the first insurance company
to do so. The company also assumed the peso business written by
Occidental Life Insurance Co. of California in one of the biggest
transactions in the insurance industry.
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1958 Insular Life introduced industrial life insurance in the
Philippines.
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1960 The company celebrated its Golden Jubilee with a total
business-in-force of P 500 Million. It likewise declared its first
post-war cash dividend to stockholders.
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1962 The Insular Life Educational Foundation (ILEF) was established.
ILEF administers a college scholarship program for deserving youths.
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1963 The Insular Life offices transferred to its new building m
Makati.
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1966 Insular Life's business-in-force reached the P1 Billion mark.
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1976 The Office of the Insurance Commissioner approved the
mutualization plan of Insular Life, making it the first Filipino
Life insurance company to mutualize.
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1980 Company assets passed the P1 Billion mark by year end. 1987
Insular Life became a fully mutualized company.
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1991 Insular Life established a health care insurance
subsidiary,
Insular Life Health Care, Inc. (I-Care),.
Acquired 99.9% of Home Savings Bank and later renamed it to Insular
Savings and Trust Company.
1992 Acquired 100% ownership of Asian Oceanic Investment House, Inc
and renamed it to Insular Investment and Trust Corporation.
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1993 Established a general insurance subsidiary, the Insular General
Insurance Co., Inc. The company ended the year with total assets
amounting to P12.3 Billion.
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