The size of the insurance market in Central Africa is about $1.1bn, with a penetration rate of no more than 0.7%, indicating the enormous potential for growth, especially with increasing urbanisation and infrastructure development, said the Insurers Federation of Egypt (IFE).
In its weekly bulletin released on 12 July, the IFE said that the majority of insurance premiums in Central Africa are concentrated in a limited number of countries, primarily Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.
Property insurance constitutes the largest share of the market in most countries of the region, while life insurance remains limited.
The bulletin also said that there has been a significant transformation in recent years in several countries in the region, including the modernisation of insurance law, improved oversight, the expansion of the use of FinTech and the spread of mobile phone services. These factors have contributed to improving access to insurance for broad segments of the population.
Infrastructure, reinsurance and foreign interest
Major infrastructure projects and increasing investments in the mining, energy and transport sectors have prompted global reinsurance companies to reassess the region as a promising market in need of specialised underwriting capabilities, which has boosted international interest in the region.
The repercussions of climate change have prompted reinsurance companies to develop more efficient models for assessing risks within the African continent, in addition to investing in improving the region’s databases, which contributes to raising the quality of risk management.
Egypt, as the chair of the African Insurance Organisation for the 2026–2027 term, aims to enhance knowledge and expertise exchange among insurance markets across the continent and to highlight the opportunities and potential of the African insurance industry. To support this, the IFE will produce a series of specialised publications on insurance markets in Africa, highlighting their key features and developments.