I
BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF INSURANCE COMPANY
Insurance in the Philippines is a booming business with a large number of players, but in fact it has old roots. During the Pre-Spanish Era, there was no insurance; every loss was borne by the person or the family who suffered the misfortune. The first insurance company, in its present concept, to operate here was Lloyd’s of London, which in March 1829 appointed Stracham, Murray & Co. to be its local agent to represent here, in which during this time is the Spanish Era. But in 1898, life insurance was introduced in the country; Sun Life Assurance of Canada first enter and began selling life insurance in the local insurance market of the country. The Philippines got its first purely domestic insurers in the beginning of the 20th century. The first domestic non-life insurance company was the Yek Tong Lin Fire & Marine Insurance Company (today Philippine First Insurance Company) established in 1906. Four years later, 1910, the first domestic life insurance company, the Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., was locally-owned and organized. And in 1936, Social insurance was established with the enactment of Commonwealth Act no. 186 which created the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) which started operations in 1937. The Act covers gov’t employees. But when Union Insurance Society of Canton appointed Russel & Surgis as its agent in Manila in the year 1939, the business transacted the Philippines was then limited to non-life insurance. In 1949, government agency was formed to handle insurance affairs, where the Insular Treasurer was appointed commissioner ex-officio. And the next year, 1950, reinsurance was introduced by the Reinsurance Company of the Orient when it wrote treaties for both life and non- life. First workmen’s compensation pool was organized as the Royal Group Incorporated on the year of 1951. With such orientation, it leads to RA 1161, was enacted on 1954, which provided for the organization of the Social Security System (SSS) covering employees of the private sector. All insurance companies, agents and brokers in the Philippines are regulated by the Insurance Commission. Its forerunner was the Insurance Division of the Bureau of Treasury, which from 1915 began overseeing the industry.
In 1949, the insurance regulator became the Office of the Insurance Commissioner at the same time as the creation of the nation’s central bank. The Insurance Commission got its present name in 1972.
At present, there are 130 insurance companies registered with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Of these, 2 are composite insurance companies (engaged in both life and non-life insurance), 23 are life insurance companies, 101 are non-life insurance companies and 4 are reinsurance companies.

References; http://www.batasnatin.com/law-library/mercantile-law/insurance/1573-history-of-insurance-in-the-philippines.html http://insurance.ph/a-history-of-insurance-in-the-philippines/