BUJUMBURA August 1st (ABP) – The operationalization of the Insurance Regulation and Control Agency has allowed the opening of insurance markets with the corollary of the increase in the number of players in the insurance industry and the improvement in other sector indicators year by year.
Those are the words of the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Domitien Ndihokubwayo who spoke on Thursday July 28, 2022 in Bujumbura during the official opening of the week dedicated to insurance in Burundi.
Indeed, he said, the insurance industry now has 17 insurance companies including 10 non-life insurance companies, 6 life insurance companies and a composite company that sells life and non-life insurance; whereas in 2013, there were only 6 insurance companies that practiced both life and non-life activities.
It also has 30 brokerage companies and 324 non-salaried agents who have professional cards issued by the ARCA. As for other indicators of that sector, he added, it should be noted that the production of the insurance sector has experienced good production.
The turnover of the insurance sector increased from 35.1 billion in 2014 to 78 billion FBU in 2021, an increase of 42 billion over this period and an average annual evolution of approximately 12%.
The penetration rate of the sector has increased from 0.77% in 2016 to 1.4% in 2021 as well as the density of insurance, that is to say, the average annual expenditure per inhabitant on insurance products which is increased from 3652 BIF in 2016 to 5049 BIF in 2020.
In addition, he said, the benefits of insurance companies have increased overall where they have increased from 15 billion in 2016 to 31 billion BIF in 2020 but also the investments made by insurers are in full swing. growth.
The assets of the insurance sector were worth 226 billion at the end of the 2020 financial year against 120 billion in 2016, a considerable increase of more than 100 billion over the last five years. According to Minister Ndihokubwayo, this increase in assets is driven by the growth of fixed assets, which represent more than half of the sector’s assets. The latter increased from 54 billion in 2016 to 121 billion in 2020, including 45 billion in real estate rights and 75 billion in financial assets consisting mainly of bonds and equity securities.
Bank deposits in commercial banks under Burundian law represented BIF 16 billion in 2020.
Despite the increase in insurance production which has led to the evolution of the penetration rate and the density of insurance in the sector, he lamented, a very large part of the people does not yet benefit from insurance.
However, ARCA is delighted that, in accordance with its 2018-2022 strategic plan, the share of insurance in the gross domestic product (GDP) will reach the rate of 1.1% at the end of 2022.
According to him, significant efforts are still to be made on the part of all stakeholders in the insurance sector, in particular by educating the population about insurance and developing micro-insurance products accessible to low-income people. to increase their resilience and not fall into a cycle of poverty in the event of painful and uncertain events.