Takaful, an emerging insurance branch gaining ground in Algeria, is expected to increase its share of the insurance market thanks to growing demand boosted by the benefits introduced by the 2024 finance law.
The Algerian insurance market has posted a turnover, including international acceptances, of around DZD169.6bn ($1.26bn) in 2023, an increase of 3.5% over 2022, said the National Insurance Council (CNA) in its update of statistics for the industry.
The Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTRF) of the Ministry of Finance has contacted financial institutions, including insurance companies and banks, about complying with regulations covering anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The preliminary draft law on insurance, which is currently being finalised, will make it possible to further diversify insurance products and systems, with an emphasis on financial inclusion, in particular via takaful, management of new risks, while giving a large place to digitalisation, the secretary-general of the National Insurance Council (CNA), Mr Abdelhakim Benbouabdellah, has affirmed.
The Algerian insurance market is estimated to have generated a little more than DZD160bn ($1.19bn) in premium income in 2023, marginally higher than the DZD155bn posted for 2022, according to preliminary industry figures.
State-owned insurance company Compagnie Algérienne des Assurances (CAAT) and the Algerian Startup Fund (ASF) have signed an agreement to provide insurance coverage for all beneficiaries of funding granted by the ASF.
Islamic insurance start-up El-Djazair Takaful has posted contributions exceeding DZD76m ($565,000) in 2023, announced the El-Djazair CEO Mahfoud Ziane Bouziane.
Algérie Poste (AP), the state-owned company that provides postal services in Algeria, and the National Insurance Company (SAA), the biggest insurer in the country, have signed a service contract for insurance compensation payments through postal establishments.
The recovery in the automobile market in Algeria is expected to increase the turnover of insurers by between 5% and 10% in 2024, according to Algerian Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies vice president Hassan Khelifati.
Although Algeria has adopted the modern approach to mitigating the risks of natural disasters by making catastrophe insurance compulsory since 2003, the take-up rate currently is below 10%, according to the Minister of the Interior, Mr Brahim Merad.