The population of Lebanon stood at 4.842m persons at the end of June 2018, according to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) which released the findings from its Labour Force and Households' Living Survey that was conducted between April 2018 and March 2019.
In response to the heightened economic and political risk in Lebanon, Arab Reinsurance Company (Arab Re) has decreased its exposure to domestic securities and increased its proportion of assets held outside Lebanon, notably by redirecting its cash flows to Bahrain and Oman, says AM Best.
The aggregate net profit of 33 companies operating in the life insurance segment in Lebanon reached $118.2m in 2018, constituting an increase of 7.4% from $110.1m in 2017, reported the Economic Research & Analysis Department of Byblos Bank citing data released by the Insurance Control Commission.
Beirut headquartered Chedid Re has appointed insurance stalwart Lazhar Charfeddine as its new general manager for Chedid Re in Morocco, from where the 30+ year industry veteran will oversee the company's rapidly growing portfolio in North and West Africa.
Although Lebanese insurers are accustomed to operating in a challenging economic environment, the accelerating decline in investor confidence and US dollar cashflow constraints create further risks for insurers with fixed costs in US dollars, says AM Best.
The combined net profits of insurance companies in Lebanon increased by 14% to $174m (LBP262.5m) in 2018 compared with the previous year, according to the Insurance Control Commission (ICC)'s annual report for 2018.
Total premiums generated by independent brokers operating across Lebanon reached $234.2m in 2018, constituting a marginal increase of 0.6% from 2017.
Insurance linked to remittances might represent a large market opportunity for insurers, of up to around $1bn in the next 10 years, according to Swiss Re Institute.
Lebanese companies signed $13.6m worth of export credit insurance contracts with Kuwait-headquartered Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) in 2018.
The Lebanese Insurance Brokers Syndicate has informed the Minister of Economy and Trade, Mr Mansour Batish, of the proposed establishment of a regional association of Arab insurance brokers to be based in Lebanon.