Africa - Morocco: Insurers faring well with much potential ahead
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2016
The Moroccan insurance industry has been achieving satisfactory results at the local and regional levels in terms of growth and quality of business but there remains a lot of untapped potential, said speakers at the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference last month in Marrakech.
The Moroccan insurance market made a quantum leap over the past decade with life and savings premiums growing fast since 2007 to account for 34% of the total market GWP in 2015, said Mr Bachir Baddou, Director General of the Moroccan Federation of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (FMSAR). However, there remains huge room for progress because a large percentage of private institutions and organisations remains uninsured. This means that insurers have to change their distribution channels and innovate so as to reach as many market segments as possible.
Mr Hassan Boubrik, President of the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Security (ACAPS), said that Morocco has positioned itself as a hub for MENA, Europe and Africa with the Casablanca Financial Centre (CFC) becoming the domicile for more than 100 financial institutions, including several insurance organisations.
Mr Othman El Alamy, a Director at ACAPS, noted that GWP in Morocco grew by around 7% annually between 2010 and 2014 to US$3.2 billion and the industry has accumulated a sizeable investment portfolio of around $13 billion. He said that the Moroccan market has consolidated with 21 operators, including seven general insurance companies; eight composite insurers, four mutuals and two reinsurers.
He pointed out that insurance regulations in Morocco underwent major revisions over the past five years with the regulatory body becoming an independent agency this year. Its scope of work has also expanded to cover social security funds. He said that the ACAPS is working on several initiatives to enhance the risk-based supervision, introduce a dedicated takaful framework and attempt to enforce compulsory insurance for commercial and industrial projects.