Published on: 27/10/2023
According to figures from the Insurance Control Commission under the Ministry of Economy, gross insurance premiums from the 46 insurance companies operating in Lebanon totaled LBP 2,456.4 billion in 2022, registering a 4.5% contraction from LBP 2,573.1 billion in 2021.
“This contraction reflects a hesitant market where customers have been confronted with a sudden dollarization of insurance premiums,” confides Assaad Mirza, President of the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (Acal).
According to him, this decline in gross premiums, which he describes as “slight,” is a direct consequence of Lebanon’s economic crisis, forcing former policyholders not to renew their insurance policies, and/or to revise downwards the risks insured.
In practical terms, this led to a drop in the cover available to policyholders. For example, some people have replaced their comprehensive vehicle insurance with a third-party policy, while others have swapped their first-class health insurance for a lower-class policy.
The Top 10
The top 10 insurance companies in Lebanon in terms of gross premiums for 2022 are as follows: Bankers Assurance, Fidelity, MedGulf, MetLife Alico, Lia Assurex, Allianz SNA, Sécurité Assurance, AXA Middle East, Arope, Libano-Suisse.
For the 2022 financial year, Bankers Assurance occupied first place with total gross premiums of LBP 261 billion, followed by Fidelity Assurance & Reinsurance (LBP 206.4 billion), Mediterranean and Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance (LBP 200.2 billion), MetLife ALICO (LBP 172.4 billion), and Lia Assurex (LBP 172.3 billion).
Some insurers underwent changes in 2022 compared with 2021. Sécurité Assurance ranked 7th in 2022, compared with 13th a year earlier. Fidelity Assurance & Reinsurance moved up three places in 2022 to 2nd place, while Lia Assurance and Libano-Suisse each moved up one place to 5th and 10th respectively in the 2022 top 10.
On one hand, Allianz SNA dropped three places and MedGulf one place in the 2022 top 10, to 6th and 3rd respectively.
On the other hand, Bankers Assurance, MetLife Alico, AXA Middle East Arope Insurance have maintained the same ranking in 2021 and 2022.
64,4%
The market share of the top 10 insurers in Lebanon was 64.4% in 2022, compared with 64.2% in 2021, while that of the top 20 companies was 64.4% in 2022.
Source: This is Beirut Website