The UAE ranked first in the Arab region, in terms of total insurance premiums, which amounted to more than 46.7 billion dirhams in 2019, compared to 43.7 billion dirhams in 2018, with a growth rate of about 6.8%, according to the annual survey of the Swiss "Swiss Re" company For reinsurance, based on the company’s latest data.

Insurance premiums

The survey, which Emirates Today obtained, showed that the total life insurance premiums in the UAE market reached about 9.75 billion dirhams in 2019, compared to 9.51 billion dirhams in the previous year, with a growth rate of about 2.6%.

The annual survey also showed that the total (non-life) general insurance premiums reached 36.9 billion dirhams, compared to 34.2 billion in 2018, with a growth rate of 8%.

Insurance intensity

The “Swiss Re” survey showed that the average intensity of insurance in the UAE market (the ratio of insurance premiums to the total population) amounted to $ 1302 per capita (about 4778 dirhams) during 2019, including about $ 272 for life insurance, and $ 1030 for general insurance (all sectors Insurance except life).

He pointed out that the penetration rate of insurance in the local market (the rate of insurance premiums to the gross domestic product) reached 3.13%, of which about 0.65% are for life insurance premiums, and 2.47% for general insurance.

The Swiss company survey revealed that the UAE ranked fourth in terms of total premiums between emerging markets in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, outperforming Turkey, Iran, and many other markets.

Arab and global

Arably, the Saudi market ranked second in terms of total premiums, which amounted to about $ 10.9 billion (about 40 billion dirhams), followed by Morocco with about 4.6 billion dollars (about 16.8 billion dirhams), and Egypt $ 1.9 billion (about 6.9 billion dirhams).

Swiss Re stated that the volume of global premiums recorded steady growth of about 3% during 2019, noting that the life insurance sector slowed to 2.2%, but it is still stronger than the levels of 1.5% recorded during the past 10 years. She added that the growth of public insurance premiums globally, reached about 3.5%, which is slightly higher than the average recorded during the past 10 years, expected that this sector will witness a decline of 1.1 points in the premiums, which reduces the overall growth to only 1.6% during the two years 2020 and 2021. The company expected a sharp decline in global GDP, twice the rate recorded during the global financial crisis, noting that growth was in the direction of decline, even before the emergence of the "Covid-19" pandemic, early this year, after it had reached the lowest Level in 10 years, by 2.5% in 2019.

Expected recovery

Swiss Re confirmed that the shock of the Covid-19 epidemic struck demand and a side of supply in all economies at the same time, expecting that most of the 30 major economies in the world will witness a recession during the current year due to the closures taken to contain the virus, provided that Some economies of some markets are experiencing a long-term recovery in the second half of 2020 to 2021.

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