The national insurance and reinsurance sector performed well in 2021 with a turnover (CA) of 52.4 billion DH, up 8.9%, according to the Insurance and Insurance Supervisory Authority. social security (ACAPS).
ACAPS specifies in a document on the situation of the insurance and reinsurance sector for the year 2021, that this growth contains contrasting developments between the insurance activity and the reinsurance activity, adding that after a year 2020 marked by weak growth, the insurance activity resumed its momentum in both life insurance and non-life insurance. Overall, direct premium income increased by 9.9% to 49.6 billion DH. We also learn that the sector has maintained a good performance over ten years with an average annual growth rate of 7.5%. In detail, life insurance increased by 12.5% to 22.9 billion DH, according to the Authority, which indicates that this increase is driven by savings which recorded a growth of 12.9%, thanks to the resumption of savings contracts in dirhams (+12.2%) and the sustained momentum of units-linked products (+20%).
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With an issue volume of 26.7 billion dirhams, non-life insurance also performed well with growth of 7.7%. This is essentially supported by the performance of automobile insurance, which recorded a volume of premiums of 13 billion dirhams and growth of 8.6%. With regard to the reinsurance business, after an exceptional year thanks mainly to the flows generated by the compulsory guarantee against the consequences of catastrophic events, acceptances fell by 5.2% with a business volume of 2 8 billion dirhams, mainly concentrated in non-life insurance (94%).
This activity remains dominated by exclusive reinsurers, with a market share of 78%, although this share is down compared to 2020, notes ACAPS. The document also shows that the cost of benefits and expenses of insurance and reinsurance companies recorded a double-digit increase in 2021 (+10.9%), indicating that direct insurers continued to bear most of the benefits and expenses accounted for with 41.5 billion DH (+12%), while exclusive reinsurers saw their expenses for benefits and expenses fall by 14.8% to 1.4 billion DH.
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By branch, the increase in benefits concerned both life insurance and non-life insurance. However, it remains stronger in life insurance (+13.7%; 24.6 billion dirhams) than in non-life insurance (+7.4%; 18.4 billion dirhams). Under their operations, insurance and reinsurance companies recorded technical charges of around 10 billion DH, up 3.8% compared to 2020. With an increase of 1.8% and a cost of 5.9 billion dirhams, management fees remained relatively under control at a time when acquisition costs, remunerating the distribution of insurance products, increased by 6.9% to 4 billion dirhams, including 3 billion dirhams supported under non-life insurance, says the same source.
In addition, ACAPS notes that the outstanding amount of technical provisions amounted to 194.1 billion DH at the end of 2021, up 6.3% compared to 2020, adding that on this outstanding amount, direct insurers concentrated 94%. With 112.2 billion dirhams and an increase of 8.3%, the share of life technical provisions stood at 58%. As for non-life technical provisions, they increased by 3.7% to 81.9 billion dirhams.