The Insurance Commission: what it does and how to check a licence

The Insurance Commission (IC) is the government agency that regulates insurance companies, pre-need companies and HMOs in the Philippines, and the agents and brokers who sell their products. Before you sign anything, you can check the person and the company yourself in the lists the IC publishes on insurance.gov.ph. They are free PDF files and need no account.

What the Insurance Commission regulates

The IC’s job comes from several laws:

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In its own words, the IC’s mandate is “to regulate and supervise the insurance, pre-need, and HMO industries”. It licenses the companies and their intermediaries, and it settles claims and complaints against insurers. RA 11765, the financial consumer protection law, also names the IC as one of the financial regulators that handle consumer complaints (Sec. 3(d)).

Investments such as stocks, mutual funds and bonds are not under the IC. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cover those (see below).

How to check an agent, broker or company

The IC has no search box for licences. It publishes dated lists as PDF files, and you look for the name in the right list:

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1. Ask for the full name and the company. An agent sells on behalf of an insurance company. A broker arranges insurance on the client’s behalf, and can work with more than one company. Ask which one the person is, and which company they work with.
2. Open the list that matches from the table, and search the PDF for the surname (“Find” on a computer, or “Find in page” on a phone).
3. Match the details. For a person, the full name and the kind of licence. For a company, the exact registered name, not a brand or app name.
4. If you can’t find them, don’t sign or pay yet. Ask the person for their licence details in writing, then ask the IC (contact details below).

What a licence means

• Selling insurance for pay needs a licence. Nobody may act as an insurance agent or broker without a licence from the Insurance Commissioner, and insurance companies may not pay commission to anyone without one (Insurance Code Sec. 307).
• Who counts as an agent. Anyone who “for compensation solicits or obtains insurance on behalf of any insurance company” (Sec. 309). A broker is anyone paid to help get insurance for someone else (Sec. 310).
• Licences are renewed. A licence expires after 31 December of the third year after it was issued, unless renewed, and is renewed every three years (Sec. 307).
• VUL needs its own licence. Selling a variable contract, such as variable universal life (VUL), needs a separate licence, given only after an exam (Sec. 316).

Warning signs

• The company is not on the IC’s lists. Whoever is selling, the company that will pay your claims must be allowed to do business in the Philippines.
• Rebates or gifts to sign. The Code bans agents, brokers and companies from offering a rebate from the premium, or any favour that is not in the policy, to get you to buy (Sec. 370).
• Promises about dividends or returns. The Code bans any “misleading estimate of the dividends or share of surplus” and misleading comparisons used to make you drop one policy for another (Sec. 371). The IC can fine each offence up to PHP 25,000 and suspend or cancel a licence (Sec. 372).
• Pressure to sign today. For products that must have one, the IC’s rules give a cooling-off period after you receive the policy: 15 days if the cover runs longer than six months (IC Insurance Memorandum Circular 2023-01, Rule II-B Sec. 6). Check the policy for its own free look period.

How to make a complaint

RA 11765 gives every financial consumer a right to “timely handling and redress of complaints” (Sec. 2). The IC’s Citizen’s Charter (2026) sets out the steps:

1. Complain to the company first. Every insurer, HMO and pre-need company must run a consumer assistance desk that is free to use (RA 11765 Sec. 8). Under the IC’s rules, it must acknowledge your complaint within two working days, and resolve a complex one within 45 days (IC Insurance Memorandum Circular 2023-01, Rule IV).
2. If you are not satisfied, go to the IC’s Public Assistance and Mediation Division. Send a complaint letter or the IC’s assistance form, with a copy of the policy, any denial letter, and other papers that support your case. For a pre-need plan, add the plan and the certificate of full payment if you have one. For an HMO, add the contract or service agreement.
3. Send it by email to publicassistance@insurance.gov.ph, or file it in person at the IC. There is no fee.
4. What happens next: you get a ticket number, and the IC sets a mediation or conciliation conference between you and the company. The Charter gives 7 days and 2 hours as the total processing time for this informal route.
5. A formal claim goes to the IC’s Claims Adjudication Division instead: a statement of claims for up to PHP 1,000,000, or a verified complaint for over PHP 1,000,000 up to PHP 5,000,000. Docket fees apply. The IC’s FAQ says that filing a complaint with the IC stops the civil courts from hearing a suit on the same matter, so decide which route you want before you file.

IC public assistance, from its contact page (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, Manila time):

• Email: publicassistance@insurance.gov.ph
• Landline: (02) 8-523-8461, local 103 or 127
• Mobile: (0917) 116-0007 (Globe), (0999) 993-0637 (Smart)
• Cebu district office: (032) 254 0861. Davao district office: (082) 327-36-51

Checking someone who sells investments

Investments are checked with a different regulator. Stocks, corporate bonds, mutual funds and the companies that sell them are registered with the SEC, which lets you check a company in its Check with SEC system. Banks’ trust products such as UITFs are under the BSP, and government securities such as Retail Treasury Bonds are issued by the Bureau of the Treasury. VUL is the exception: it is an insurance policy with an investment part, so its seller needs an IC licence for variable contracts. Our guide to the main ways to save and invest explains who regulates what.

This page is general information about the law, checked on the date above. It is not legal advice.