2023-06-26 08:13:40
• The contribution of the insurance sector to the economy remains very low at 1.14%
• In three months, the sector recorded a loss of more than 600 million due to the suspension of documented controls
• Professionals want a commitment from the authorities to enforce insurance obligations
Overview of the participants in the first edition of the EGA-BF. (Ph: Yvan SAMA)
Professionals from the insurance sector in Burkina Faso met, from June 13 to 15, 2023, in Ouagadougou, to hold the States General of Insurance in Burkina Faso. Placed under the theme “What insurance to support the economic and social development of Burkina Faso?” “, these foundations were wanted by the ministry in charge of the economy, supervisory authority, in concert with the professionals of the insurance sector and their umbrella, with a view to finding lasting solutions to the problems which hinder the take-off of the sector of insurance in Burkina Faso. The opening of this first edition was chaired by the Minister of Economy, Dr. Aboubakar Nacanabo, representing the Prime Minister. He said that the insurance sector in Burkina Faso was ranked 4th among the 14 countries of the CIMA zone (Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets, editor’s note). The sector also has an annual rate of return of around 12.8% over the past seven years, which for Minister Nacanabo is a sign of good performance and enormous potential for the sector. Monhamed Compaoré, president of the Professional Association of Insurance Companies of Burkina (APSAB), sounds the same trumpet by maintaining that the sector has been growing for more than a decade. However, he adds, the observation is that the contribution of the insurance sector to the economy is very low. “We have a penetration rate of 1.14%, while there is great potential in different areas and we can say that the insurance sector does not sufficiently cover all the economic potential offered by Burkina Faso. In saying this, I am thinking, in particular, of the crafts sector, the agricultural sector, and also the mines, where there are things that can be improved compared to the current content,” he said.
According to him, several professional structures are involved in the insurance sector in Burkina Faso. They are 17 insurance companies, 47 life insurance companies, 08 non-life insurance companies, a reinsurance company and a micro-insurance company. In terms of intermediation, insurance companies are supported by 67 companies and brokerage firms, 135 general agencies, 42 sub-agencies and more than a thousand provincial representatives.
Minister Aboubakar Nacanabo adds that the coordinated actions of all these entities have made it possible to achieve, in 2021, a turnover of nearly 125 billion FCFA. An increase of 14.27% compared to the previous year, the amount of which was 108 billion FCFA. Of all the products on the market, the non-life or P&C branch contributes 55.15%. The penetration rate increased from 1.05% in 2020 to 1.14% in 2021, an increase of 8.52%. For the Minister, this ratio, although having increased, remains low and contrasts with the place occupied by the country within the WAEMU. He says he hopes that at the end of these assemblies, there will be strong recommendations that will make it possible to qualitatively transform the insurance sector and allow it to fully play its role in the economic and social development of the country. “I take this opportunity to congratulate all the actors. Our country occupies the fourth place in the CIMA space, this shows that there is work that has been done on the ground. This is why I wanted to encourage them and tell them that we are listening to the recommendations that will come out of these general meetings, and we will do everything to implement them”, he reassures.
The major difficulties of the sector, according to the president of the APSAB, are the non-respect of the insurance obligations which are three in number. The obligation to insure motorized land vehicles, the obligation of transport insurance for all imported goods whose value is more than 500,000 FCFA, and finally, construction insurance for buildings whose value exceeds 100 million FCFA. “Our ardent wish is that our authorities can continue to support us so that all insurance obligations are met as a first step”. The suspension of document checks by the police contributed considerably to non-compliance with compulsory insurance for motor vehicles. “The impact has been very significant. It was measured, following three months of activity, and we are at a loss of more than 600 million FCFA”, confided Monhamed Compaoré. The Senegalese, Cheikh Ba, Managing Director of Assur Conseils and President of the Inter-African Federation of Insurance Advisors, following welcoming the initiative, which is a first in Burkina, wanted to encourage his Burkinabe colleagues, insurance brokers, who play , according to him, an extremely important role in the distribution of insurance products. “Insurance is not a real product, it is quite a complex product and it takes professionals to support them. And I think that the Association of Insurance Brokers of Burkina will try to fully play its role to enable the sector to support the economic and social development of Burkina. »
The first edition of the Estates General of Insurance in Burkina Faso should identify a roadmap for the implementation of recommendations and resolutions to unlock the full potential of the insurance sector.
Etienne LANKOANDE
framed
South Africa: Pan-African leader in the insurance market
On the pan-African chessboard, South Africa is the leader in the insurance market, claiming more than 60% of this market share in 2021. A report by the Swiss Re Institute revealed that the turnover of the African insurance sector reached 74.19 billion USD in 2021. An amount up by 19.89% compared to 2020, when it stood at 61.881 billion USD. Of the 74.19 billion dollars, South Africa gets away with 51.215 billion USD, or 69.03% of shares in 2021. It is followed by Morocco, Egypt and Kenya which respectively represent 7 .2%, 3.79% and 3.26% of the total premiums written in Africa, in 2021. The insurance sector in Burkina, with approximately 0.22 billion USD in 2021, is light years away from that of South Africa. Through the Estates General, the authorities thus show their desire to raise the level of this sector, which remains an essential support for the development of an economy.
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