Negotiations have recently begun between the insurance industry and the government in Algeria to amend the insurance law that would, among other measures, impose strict conditions on insurers to comply with norms regarding the reimbursement of claims.
Mr Nacer Sais, CEO of National Insurance Company (Société Algérienne des Assurances or SAA), who revealed this, indicated that the backlog of disputed claims among the various insurers in Algeria have been cleaned up until 2013. Those with refund cases dating up to 2013 will thus be able to have their outstanding claims against other insurers settled, reported Algerian Liberty.
Mr Sais said: “The problem in Algeria is that most insurers opt for the minimum amount. So when claims are processed, each insurer makes a finding that benefits it. For this reason, litigation lasts months and months before claims are settled.”
Insurers have been working to resolve the backlog of vehicle damage claims that date from 2010-2015. The backlog was expected to be cleared by the end of 2016. Cases earlier than 2010 have been settled, reported the Algerian Press Service.
As for developments in SAA, Mr Sais said that the insurance market in Algeria reported turnover of nearly DZD131 billion (US$1.2 billion) in 2015 of which DZD27.4 billion was generated by SAA, allowing it to maintain its leading market share of more than 20%.
In 2015, SAA incurred compensation of DZD16.6 billion against 2014’s DZD15.8 billion. The automotive sector leads with 90% of all compensation claims. The number of reported claims was 372,556, a decrease of 13,443 compared with 2014. Of the number of claims in 2015, 97% arose from the motor business.
SAA is working to implement its 2016-2018 development plan whose objective remains sustainability, commercial performance and improvement of management aggregates. “We will focus on diversification in an aggressive, organised and dynamic sales approach. We will also modernise the sales outlets to preserve the brand image of the company,” said Mr Sais. He added that SAA will also upgrade the skills and expertise of its human resources in the technical and commercial fields, among others.
The Algerian insurance industry is facing challenges because of a decline in the imports of automobiles and the economic situation caused by the oil price decline and regional conflict.
DZD10 = US$0.09