A new report has shown that the Nigerian insurance penetration level and overall development remains one of the most under-developed when compared to its peers in the African continent.
A new Swiss Re Institute report on Insurance in sub-Saharan Africa indicated that that despite growing at a faster pace than the economy, Nigeria’s insurance sector still remained one of the most underdeveloped.
It noted: “With a population estimated at 196.1 million people, a growing middle class and increased life expectancy rate for Nigerians (54.5 years average for men and women in 2017 from 53.4 years in 2016), the potential for growth in the sector is significant.”
The report stated that at optimal state, industry gross premium should be comparable to overall consumption expenditure in the economy, since insurance is a risk mitigating strategy.
The Institute pointed out that however, at 0.3 per cent, Nigeria had the lowest insurance penetration level (measured as insurance gross premium written as a proportion of GDP) amongst notable African countries, namely South Africa (14.7 per cent), Kenya (2.8 per cent), Angola (0.8 per cent) and Egypt (0.6 per cent).
Similarly, the report findings showed that Nigeria’s insurance density of ($6.2)”. (a measure of industry gross premium per capita) is still one of the lowest when compared to South Africa ($762.5), Egypt ($22.8), Kenya ($40.5) and Angola ($30.5).
On the nature if Nigerian insurance sector, the report noted that the insurance industry in Nigeria is segmented into life, non-life and re-insurance, with non-life insurance accounting for the bulk (48.7 per cent) of total gross premium written (GPW) while life and re-insurance account for 30.1 per cent and 21.2 per cent, respectively.
A further analysis of the report findings on sub-Saharan Africa insurance market structure shows that de-concentration in what fits a monopolistic competitive market structure in both life and non-life insurance while the re-insurance market structure operates in an oligopolistic (duopoly) system.
