This report is based on the 2019-2021 Insurance Market Performance Report published by the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) in October 2022 and is enriched with information from other sources, comments, and quotes of CEOs and MDs of insurance companies in Tanzania, and other stakeholders.
This report was made possible with the support of TIRA, and the insurance and reinsurance companies who sponsored it, namely: First Assurance, Reliance, Sanlam, Strategis, Tan-Re, and Grand-Re.
Executive Summary
Despite the impact of Covid-19, the Tanzanian economy expanded by 4.3% in 2021, compared to 2% at the peak of the pandemic, and 5.8% in 2019 prior to the start of the pandemic.
The Tanzanian insurance industry gross written premiums (GWP) amounted to TZS 911.5 billion for the year ended 31 December 2021, representing a nominal increase of 11% from TZS 824 billion written in 2020. The growth in GWP in 2020 was 1.2%.
General insurance business recorded a total GWP of TZS 746.4 billion which represents an increase of 8.4% compared to a gross premium written of TZS 688.6 billion during 2020.
Life assurance business volume has increased by 21.6% from TZS 135.7 billion in 2020 to TZS 165.0 billion in 2021
The insurance penetration (GWP / GDP) for the insurance business provided by insurance companies only for 2021 was 0.58% (GWP TZS 911.5 billion / GDP TZS 157,798.5 billion).
However overall insurance penetration which includes public and private insurance as a percentage of GDP was approximately 1.68% in 2021. The ratio slightly increased compared to a penetration ratio of 1.55% in 2020 and 1.58% in 2019.
In 2021, there were six million Tanzanians who used insurance services nationwide, out of a total population of about 60 million.
The total assets for the insurance industry increased by 8.4% from TZS 1,180 billion in 2020 to TZS 1,279 billion as of 31 December 2021. Total assets grew by 12.6% in 2020 compared to the value of total assets in 2019.
Investment assets increased by 7.8% from TZS 872 billion in 2020 to TZS 940 billion in 2021. During 2019 investment assets were TZS 751 billion, resulting in a growth of 16.1% in 2020.
The financial soundness of the industry was enhanced as a result of minimum capital improvement which increased by 4.3% from 2020 to 2021.
