Tanzania’s insurance industry grows by 26.7 percent

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s insurance market grew by 26.7 percent in 2022, driven by growth of both the domestic and global economies.

The industry last year registered gross written premiums (GWP) totalling Sh1.158 trillion, up from the previous year’s Sh911 billion.

Presenting the industry performance report for 2022 in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Insurance Commissioner Baghayo Saqware said overall insurance penetration grew by 1.99 percent last year from 1.68 percent in 2021.

“We are very grateful to insurance companies for their significant contribution in boosting economic growth through the industry. This shows that this sub-sector is stable and promising and plans to further increase its contribution to GDP will be successful,” he said.

Dr Saqware added that the number of registered insurance companies operating in Tanzania – both insurers and reinsurers – increased to 40 last year from 36 that were in existence the previous year.

He said Tanzanian companies held 70 percent of the domestic insurance market share, followed by Kenyan (20.9 percent) and South African (3.5 percent) firms.

“This is good news because the bulk of earnings remains in our economy and I take this opportunity to commend insurance companies and all stakeholders.

“We will continue to oversee guidance provided by the Ministry of Finance and work closely with other authorities to ensure that the insurance market is attractive for both local and external investors,” Dr Saqware said.

According to the report compiled by the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (Tira), seven companies were warned and ordered to improve their services following numerous complaints lodged by customers.

A total of Sh2.4 billion in gross written premiums was recorded in agriculture last year, an increase of 82.7 percent from the previous year’s Sh1.323 billion.

“Agriculture insurance contributed 0.3 percent of the total general business underwritten during the year under review. This included crop, livestock and fisheries,” the report says.

Culture, Arts and Sports minister Damas Ndumbaro said during the report’s launch that the insurance industry played an important role in the country’s economy, adding that more awareness was needed.

He urged stakeholders to continue promoting awareness of insurance and its products so that more people could seek insurance cover, especially now that universal health insurance had been introduced in the country.

“As the minister responsible for sports, I wish to see all sports clubs in the country insure their players.  The nature of their jobs requires that they be provided with insurance cover and insurers should therefore grab this opportunity and design tailor-made products for sports,” Dr Ndumbaro said.

He added that in order to build more confidence among insurance users, insurers should settle claims with minimum delay.

For his part, Reliance Insurance Company Limited chief executive Ravi Shankar said growth of the insurance industry could largely be attributed to reforms carried out in the country in recent years.

“These reforms will attract more players into the market.  There are initiatives that will take some time to bring about the desired results, but which will go a long way in driving forward the insurance industry in East Africa,” he added.