Gross insurance premiums of the 46 insurance companies operating in Lebanon totalled LBP2.4tn ($1.6bn) in 2022, falling by 4.5% from LBP2,573.1bn in 2021, according to figures released by the Insurance Control Commission (ICC) under the Ministry of the Economy.
“This contraction reflects a hesitant market in which customers faced a sudden cash dollarisation of insurance premiums,” said Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon president Assaad Mirza, according to a report in Beirut Here.
He says that the drop in gross premiums, which he described as “slight”, is due to the economic crisis that Lebanon is facing. Economic conditions have resulted in a lower level of coverage for policyholders. For instance, some policyholders replaced the comprehensive insurance of their vehicles with third-party liability insurance, while others dropped their first-class health insurance for those of a lower class.
The insurance market in Lebanon has been weakened by the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, sharp deprecation in the value of the Lebanese pound as well as economic and political pound. In 2019, which was the last full financial year before the August 2020 Beirut Port blast, insurance premiums totalled $1.6bn, a 4% fall compared to 2018.
The top 10 insurers in Lebanon in terms of 2022 gross premiums were: Bankers Assurance, Fidelity, MedGulf, MetLife Alico, Lia Assurex, Allianz SNA, Sécurité Assurance, AXA Middle East, Arope and Libano-Swiss.
The market share of the top 10 insurers in Lebanon was 64.4% in 2022 against 64.2% in 2021, while that of the top 20 insurance companies represented 85.4% in 2022 against 87.3 % in 2021. M