The insurance industry has shown positive results for the six months ended 30 June 2021, with gross premiums/contributions generated in the domestic market amounting to BHD143.7m ($381m), up 6.7% y-o-y, said the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).
The growth in insurance business in 1H2021 was strongest for long-term and medical insurance at 23% and 9% respectively. Medical business grew by 9% to BHD45.73m during the period compared to BHD41.93m in the corresponding period last year. Medical insurance is the largest line of business in terms of GWP, contributing around 32% of the total premiums written in 1H2021.
Long-term insurance premiums surged by 23% to BHD30.39m in the first half of this year, contributing 21% of the total market premiums. This means that general insurance business (including medical insurance business) accounted for 79% of gross premiums in 1H2021.
Motor insurance constituted the second-largest class of business, generating gross premiums of BHD34.51m from January to June, a slide from the BHD36.59m reported for the corresponding period last year. Motor insurance accounted for 24% of the total market premiums in 1H2021.
Total gross contributions of takaful firms reached BHD43.76m in the six months ended 30 June 2021, representing around 30% of the total gross premiums/contributions in the Bahraini insurance market. The total gross takaful contributions in 1H2021 was a marginal dip from the BHD43.89m reported for 1H2020.
“The insurance sector in Bahrain holds tremendous promise for growth, as demonstrated by the industry’s strong performance for the six months ended June 2021. This is despite the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which itself was one of the reasons for increasing insurance awareness, especially with regard to health/medical insurance,” said CBB executive director, financial institutions supervision Abdul Rahman Al Baker in a statement.
“We expect the insurance sector to continue its growth in the coming years, mainly due to the increase in the public awareness on the importance of the insurance products in general, as well as the soundness of the regulatory and supervisory framework of the insurance sector in Bahrain,” he added. M