The 2023 Insurance, Pension Fund and Mediation Market Report, presented this Wednesday in Luanda, states that the insurance activity reached global premiums of 379.7 billion kwanzas, the majority of which were in the accident and illness segment, with 155.4 billion kwanzas.
Following accidents and illness, in this period came the petrochemical, life, fire and damage and automobile segments.
The 23 insurance companies (22 private and one public) operating in the national market paid compensation/claims worth 161.9 billion kwanzas, an increase of 59 percent compared to 2022.
The annual report of the Angolan Insurance Regulation and Supervision Agency (ARSEG) indicates that the assets of insurance companies as of December 31, 2023, grew by 47 percent compared to the previous period, reaching 750.9 billion kwanzas.
The liabilities of insurance companies also increased, with the overall value being 576.6 billion kwanzas, up 61 percent compared to the previous year, mainly due to the increase in technical provisions, which grew by 69.4 percent, and equity increased by 12 percent, according to the ARSEG document.
The structure of the insurance companies' investment portfolio was distributed in this period into deposits (35 percent), fixed-income securities (27 percent), variable-income securities (19 percent), real estate (19 percent) and others.
The Angolan pension fund market, which comprises 38 funds, also grew in 2023, reaching 1.1 billion kwanzas, 28 percent more than in the previous period, with the National Insurance Company of Angola being the managing entity with the largest weight, managing 41 percent of the amount.
In the brokerage segment, premiums of 144.5 billion kwanzas were achieved.
The director of the ARSEG Statistical Planning and Study Office, César Marcelino, said at the end of the report presentation that the 2023 figures "are quite encouraging", noting, however, that the insurance penetration rate in the Angolan economy stood at 0.60 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.
"However, there are challenges here that the regulator is pursuing and that it believes can be corrected in the coming years, namely with the increase in financial literacy. Today we need to increasingly and better educate Angolans regarding the economic and social importance of insurance", he responded to Lusa.
ARSEG estimates new growth in the insurance sector for 2024, with premiums already worth 222 billion kwanzas by June, the official said.
