The Tanzania insurance market grew 68.4% to TZS 2.55 trillion (± USD 985 million) in premiums in 2025, according to the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) report launched on 16 October 2026 in Dodoma.
The 25th edition of TIRA’s Annual Insurance Market Performance Report, covering the year ended 31 December 2025, was presented at TIRA’s offices in Njedengwa, Dodoma, by the Deputy Minister for Finance, Eng. Mshamu Ali Munde, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba.
Munde directed TIRA to work with industry stakeholders to bring insurance education to farmers, fishers, small traders, youth, women, and rural residents nationwide, so that insurance becomes part of every Tanzanian’s daily life.
Key Market Indicators For 2025
The increase in gross written premiums (GWP) from TZS 1.52 trillion (± USD 585 million) in 2024 was driven mainly by the inclusion of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) contributions following implementation of the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) Act.
Over the five years from 2021 to 2025, total GWP rose from TZS 911.5 billion (± USD 352 million), a compound annual growth rate of 29.4%.
Claims reported rose 120.8% to TZS 1.61 trillion (± USD 620 million), while claims paid increased 136.4% to TZS 1.29 trillion (± USD 497 million), lifting the claims settlement ratio to 80.2% from 74.9% in 2024.
Total assets rose 64.7% to TZS 4.06 trillion (± USD 1.57 billion), total liabilities increased 32.8% to TZS 2.17 trillion (± USD 837 million), and net worth more than doubled, up 127.1% to TZS 1.89 trillion (± USD 729 million).
Investment assets grew 59.3% to TZS 2.24 trillion (± USD 864 million) from TZS 1.41 trillion in 2024, accounting for 55.2% of the industry’s total assets.
Insurance penetration, measured as premiums relative to GDP, rose to 2.11% from 2.08% in 2024 and 1.68% in 2021, while GDP grew 5.9% to TZS 186.1 trillion (± USD 71.8 billion).
In TIRA’s continental comparison, Tanzania’s penetration remains below South Africa at 11.54%, Namibia at 7.41%, Mauritius at 4.97%, and Morocco at 4.10%, while most other African markets are at relatively low levels.
Finance and insurance was the fastest-growing sector of the economy in 2025 at 15.7%, and insurance premiums were equivalent to 28.8% of the sector’s TZS 8.87 trillion (± USD 3.42 billion) contribution to GDP, up from 19.8% in 2024.
Insurance density, the average premium per person, increased 63.7% to TZS 37,455 (± USD 14.4) from TZS 22,878, while policyholders and beneficiaries rose 3.4% to 26.8 million, or 39.3% of the estimated population of 68.1 million, up from 37.8%.
Registered insurance service providers rose 528.4% to 10,940 from 1,741, and employment in the insurance market increased 139.3% to 15,398 from 6,434, both driven mainly by health service providers endorsed under the UHI Act.
TIRA approved 14 new insurance products in 2025, raising the cumulative number of approved products by 22.2% to 77 from 63 in 2024.
Health and Travel Insurance Reshapes Premium Mix
Health insurance GWP rose 426.2% to TZS 986.6 billion (± USD 380 million), more than fivefold, lifting the segment’s share of the market to 38.6% from 12.4% in 2024.
The UHI Act, No. 13 of 2023, which came into effect on 16 August 2024, makes health insurance a right for all Tanzanians.
The public sector supplied TZS 603.9 billion (± USD 233 million), or 61.2% of health insurance contributions, followed by the private sector with 28.7% and the informal sector with 10.1%.
NHIF alone recorded contributions of TZS 773.4 billion (± USD 298 million) and a profit after tax of TZS 221.0 billion (± USD 85 million), making it the largest health insurer by every financial indicator.
General insurance remained the largest segment, with GWP up 19.6% to TZS 1.145 trillion (± USD 442 million), or 44.9% of the market, led by motor at 39.8%, fire at 18.8%, and travel at 8.7% of general premiums.
Travel insurance premiums more than tripled, rising 228.1% to TZS 99.4 billion (± USD 38 million) mainly on inbound travel insurance, while bond insurance rose 65.1% and agricultural insurance expanded 54.7% to TZS 12.1 billion (± USD 4.7 million).
The Finance Act No. 11 of 2025 amended the Insurance Act by introducing Section 134A, which establishes mandatory inbound travel insurance for foreigners entering Mainland Tanzania by land, sea, or air, covering emergency medical and travel risks for up to 92 days.
In Zanzibar, where a similar scheme already applies, mandatory inbound travel insurance generated TZS 96.98 billion (± USD 37 million), or 68.2% of the island’s GWP, which rose 68.4% to TZS 142.1 billion (± USD 55 million).
Life insurance GWP increased 16.1% to TZS 358.8 billion (± USD 138 million), or 14.1% of the market, with group credit life accounting for 73.8% of life premiums and individual life policies for 15.8%.
Takaful contributions grew 39.8% to TZS 6.5 billion (± USD 2.5 million), while foreign inward reinsurance business declined 3.7% to TZS 55.9 billion (± USD 22 million).
Claims Settlement By Segment
Health insurance accounted for TZS 772.8 billion (± USD 298 million) of claims paid with a settlement ratio of 91.7%, while life insurers settled 86.3% of the claims reported to them.
In general insurance, claims paid grew 21.5% to TZS 415.9 billion (± USD 160 million), but the settlement ratio slipped to 64.2% from 66.6% as reported claims grew faster than payments.
Assets, Investments, And Profits
The growth in assets and net worth was driven mainly by the inclusion of NHIF assets, while the investment portfolio was held mainly in bank deposits (44.0%), government securities (30.6%), equities (13.5%), and real estate (6.8%).
Equity holdings more than doubled to TZS 302.8 billion (± USD 117 million) from TZS 125.9 billion, while bank deposits rose 74.2% to TZS 986.2 billion (± USD 380 million) as insurers kept liquidity for claims settlement.
General insurers’ profit after tax rose 49.5% to TZS 83.6 billion (± USD 32 million), and life insurers’ profit after tax increased 234.2% to TZS 60.2 billion (± USD 23 million), as the life segment’s insurance service result swung from a loss to a profit.
Combined ratios stood at 68% for general insurers, 78% for life insurers, and 80% for health insurers, meaning insurance revenue covered claims and operating expenses in all three segments.
Solvency ratios remained above regulatory minimums, at 39.6% for general insurers against a 25% requirement, 46.5% for life insurers against 8%, and 374% for health insurers against 25%.
Alliance Insurance Corporation led general insurers with GWP of TZS 150.6 billion (± USD 58 million), followed by the state-owned Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC) and National Insurance Corporation (NIC), while Sanlam Allianz Life Insurance led life insurers with TZS 210.2 billion (± USD 81 million).
Market Structure, Ownership, And Jobs
Health service providers accounted for 8,500 of the registered entities, up from 121 in 2024, and for 7,500 of the industry’s jobs, while insurance companies employed 3,394 people.
The market comprised 26 general insurers, seven life insurers, two health insurance schemes, two Takaful operators, four reinsurers, 154 brokers, 1,503 agents, and 36 bancassurance agents.
Of the 42 insurance underwriters, 21 had mixed Tanzanian and foreign ownership with at least one-third held by Tanzanians, 15 were fully Tanzanian-owned, and six were state-owned.
By country, Tanzanian investors held 76.9% of underwriters’ ownership, followed by investors from Kenya at 15.7%, South Africa at 2.6%, Botswana at 1.6%, and Zambia at 1.5%.
Bancassurance channelled TZS 535.1 billion (± USD 206 million), or 21.0% of total GWP and 92.4% of intermediated life business, while brokers handled 20.7% of GWP and direct sales 38.3%.
Business remains concentrated in Dar es Salaam, which generated 71.6% of general insurance GWP and recorded premium per person of TZS 264,937 (± USD 102), compared with TZS 5,902 (± USD 2.3) in Rukwa.
Reinsurance And Local Underwriting Capacity
Reinsurance companies wrote GWP of TZS 439.5 billion (± USD 169 million), up 17.4%, with the Tanzania Reinsurance Company (TAN-RE) holding 75.7% of the market and Grand Reinsurance Tanzania 16.0%.
Insurers must cede 20% of the premium on every policy to TAN-RE, place at least 30% of treaty business with locally licensed reinsurers, and route at least 10% of treaty placements through local reinsurance brokers.
Local reinsurers in turn ceded 99.9% of their outward premiums, or TZS 236.0 billion (± USD 91 million), to foreign reinsurers, with only TZS 0.2 billion placed locally.
Underwriting capacity under the 398 reinsurance treaties reviewed by TIRA reached TZS 193.53 trillion (± USD 74.6 billion), equivalent to 94.5% of GDP, with the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) leading 101 treaty participations.
General insurers retained 49.9% of premiums overall, while retention stood at 0% for energy, 6.2% for travel, and 14.4% for aviation, with the balance ceded to reinsurers.
TIRA lists limited domestic financial and technical capacity to underwrite large infrastructure, energy, mining, oil and gas, aviation, and marine risks among the industry’s main challenges.
By 31 December 2025, the Tanzania Energy Coinsurance Consortium (TECC), which pools domestic insurers’ capacity for energy risks, had underwritten 16 energy risks with a total sum insured of TZS 5.92 trillion (± USD 2.28 billion) and GWP of TZS 13.39 billion (± USD 5.2 million).
Regulatory Reforms And Outlook
TIRA issued nine guidelines in 2025, including rules on risk-based capital adequacy, own risk and solvency assessment, and corporate governance, and started tiered supervision of insurers based mainly on solvency levels.
During the year, TIRA placed five insurers under statutory management to restore their financial soundness and protect policyholders, inspected 169 registrants on site, and began reviewing minimum paid-up capital requirements for new and existing insurers.
New products approved during the year include hybrid tobacco crop cover, index-based livestock drought cover, and weather index insurance for maize farmers developed by the 15-member Tanzania Agricultural Insurance Consortium (TAIC).
Reported fraud cases rose 16.3% to 100, while 814 court cases involving insurers were pending at year-end, up from 356, with disputed amounts of TZS 768.78 billion (± USD 296 million), USD 18.24 million, and EUR 1.30 million.
In his report statement, the Commissioner of Insurance, Dr. Baghayo Saqware, outlined TIRA’s next priorities, including an insurance regulatory sandbox, amendments to the Insurance Act, finalisation of the National Insurance Policy, and the operationalisation of mandatory insurance.
Saqware added that these measures, together with digital transformation, microinsurance, and continued implementation of UHI, are expected to lift the industry’s contribution to GDP beyond the 2.11% recorded in 2025.
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