The Insurance Code of the Philippines

The insurance in the Philippines is governed by the Insurance Code of 1978, as amended.

The first insurance code in the Philippines was ordained and instituted under Presidential Decree (PD) no. 612 on December 18, 1974 by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The forerunner of this code was the Insurance Act which took effect on July 1, 1915, and which was copied almost verbatim from the California Insurance Act, with the exception of a few provisions which were adopted from the New York Law.

Since its promulgation, the code had undergone several amendments.  Substantial number of provisions had been rendered obsolete by subsequent issuances of amendatory laws, decrees and executive orders.  Likewise, there were certain provisions which were impractical in application, thus, necessitating revision in order to infuse flexibility, keep pace with the changing needs and demands of industries in line with new risks and arising out of new international developments. 

For these reasons, it was imperative to consolidate, codify and integrate such amendatory laws, decrees and executive orders to harmonize their provisions for the proper guidance of the public and efficient administration thereof;

On June 11, 1978, then President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed PD no. 1460, otherwise known as the Insurance Code of 1978, consolidating and codifying all the insurance laws of the Philippines.

January 16, 1981, PD 1814 amending certain sections of PD 1460 was signed.  The reasons for the amendments were:

• To ensure the due execution and performance of insurance contracts in the interests of the sound development of the national economy due to the prevailing economic conditions library
• To further assure reasonable insurance services for the protection of the interests of the policy holders and the public.

Please click here for the full text of the code from the Insurance Commission.

Note: The image is the Insurance Code of the Philippines, 2003 Edition book of Renato R. Pasimio, which was published by National Book Store.