Twenty-six insurers operating in Jordan have reported that net profits soared by 133% in 2005 to JD77.4 million (US$109.24 million).
According to the Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF), which released the details, the lion’s share of the profits was non-operational income earned from the companies’ investment portfolios and share trading on the Amman Stock Exchange.
Investment income totalled JD68.6 million, more than three times the JD20 million generated in operational profits.
Premiums in 2005 totalled JD219.3 million, 14.5% higher than the JD191.4 million posted in the previous year. General insurance premiums, which leapt by 16%, contributed JD160.5 million of the total. Life insurance premiums increased by 6.4% while medical insurance jumped 13.2%.
Compensation paid out totalled JD142.8 million, an increase of 15.6% over the previous year.
Several Jordanian insurers continued to report healthy earnings in the first six months of the year. Jordan International Insurance chalked up a 63% increase in net profits to JD3.1 million (US$4.39 million) for the first six months of this year, compared to the corresponding period last year.
Its rival, Arab Orient Insurance (AOI), also raked in double-digit growth. The company reported that it had an operational income of JD940,000 between January and June this year, a rise of 20% over the first half of 2005.
However, Oasis Insurance went into the red with a loss of about JD1 million (US$1.4 million) in the first six months of this year, compared to JD908,900 profit in the corresponding first half of last year. The company attributed the poorer performance to a loss of JD718,600 in investment income in the first half of the year. In contrast, investment gains totalled JD926,800 in the same period last year.