Bahrain: Insurance sector shows steady results for 1H2022
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Dec 2022
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) said that the kingdom’s insurance industry has shown steady results for the six months ended 30 June 2022.
The gross premiums generated in the domestic market amounted to BHD146.86m ($390m) in the first half of the year compared to BHD143.62m in the corresponding half in 2021, showing a growth rate of around 2.3%.
General insurance business (including medical insurance) contributed to 84% of the GWP in 1H2022.
A summary of the gross premiums produced in the first six months of this year by the two biggest branches of insurance is illustrated in Table 1.
Total gross contributions of takaful companies stood at BHD41.30m in the six months ended 30 June 2022 compared to BHD43.67m in the corresponding period of 2021. Takaful operations accounted for 28% of the total GWP in the Bahraini insurance market in 1H2022.
As of 30 June 2022, Bahrain’s domestic insurance market comprised 21 locally incorporated insurers and 10 branches of foreign insurance companies, carrying out insurance, reinsurance, takaful, retakaful and captive business.
“The insurance sector in Bahrain holds promise for growth, as demonstrated by the industry’s performance for the period ended 30 June 2022. This is due to the growth in the medical insurance class which resulted from the public awareness about the importance of such class of insurance,” said CBB executive director of financial institutions supervision Abdul Rahman Al Baker.
“We expect the insurance sector to grow in the coming years, mainly due to the increase in public awareness of the importance of insurance products in general, as well as due to the soundness of the regulatory and supervisory framework of the insurance sector in Bahrain,” said Mr Al Baker. M