Insurance companies operating in Uganda generated a total of Shs933.8 billion in gross written premiums in the first half of 2024, according to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) report. This marks a 12.65% increase from Shs828.9 billion registered during the same period in 2023.
Speaking at the official release of the Insurance Industry performance results for the half year (January-June) 2024, Al Hajji Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega, the IRA CEO, said overall, the insurance industry saw robust growth.
“This surge reflects heightened business activities, underscoring the sector’s resilience and its pivotal role in the country’s economic landscape,” he said.
Of the shs933.8 billion in gross written premiums, non-life business generated shs542.3 billion representing a 6.30% growth from the shs510.1 billion the same period last year.
Life insurance business generated Shs357.8 billion which was 22.97% growth from the shs291 billion during the same period last year while Health Membership Organisations generated shs33.1 billion up from shs27.3 billion, representing a 21.24% growth.
The sector performance report also shows that microinsurance generated shs0.613 billion up from shs0.463 billion, indicating a 32.52% growth.
Health Membership Organizations accounted for 3.54% of the Market Share, up from 3.30% in the first half of 2023.
The sector performance report shows that during the half year ending June 2024, the gross written premium collected through the brokerage distribution channel was Shs298.3 billion, up from Shs257.8 billion generated in a similar period in 2023. This represented a 15.63% growth.
In relative terms, brokers business accounted for 31.9% of the total insurance premium, an increase by 0.79% from 31.11% share during the same period last year.
On the other hand, bancassurance reached shs107.5 billion in gross written premiums, up from shs83.6 billion, reflecting a 28.59% growth.
Lubega described this growth as a remarkable performance which underscores the tremendous potential of mutual partnerships in expanding access to insurance and enhancing financial security for customers.
In terms of market share, non-life continues to dominate with 58.07% of the aggregate industry written premiums. However, the 58.07% is lower than the 61.54% during the same period last year.