CIMA zone: insurance density and penetration rate per country in 2020
| Country | Classes of business | Premiums in USD | Density in USD | Penetration rate | Number of companies | Number of employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | Life | 56 000 000 | 5 | 0.36% | 6 | 154 |
| Non life | 68 000 000 | 6 | 0.43% | 7 | 288 | |
| Total | 124 000 000 | 11 | 0.79% | 13 | 442 | |
| Burkina Faso | Life | 87 000 000 | 4 | 0.49% | 7 | 190 |
| Non life | 116 000 000 | 6 | 0.65% | 8 | 394 | |
| Total | 203 000 000 | 10 | 1.14% | 15 | 584 | |
| Cameroon | Life | 125 000 000 | 5 | 0.31% | 11 | 297 |
| Non life | 263 000 000 | 10 | 0.64% | 17 | 955 | |
| Total | 388 000 000 | 15 | 0.95% | 28 | 1 252 | |
| Central African Republic | Life | - | - | - | - | - |
| Non life | 11 000 000 | 2 | 0.46% | 1 | 46 | |
| Total | 11 000 000 | 2 | 0.46% | 1 | 46 | |
| Congo Brazzaville | Life | 12 000 000 | 2 | 0.12% | 2 | 41 |
| Non life | 100 000 000 | 18 | 0.98% | 6 | 230 | |
| Total | 112 000 000 | 20 | 1.10% | 8 | 271 | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Life | 343 000 000 | 13 | 0.56% | 10 | 642 |
| Non life | 429 000 000 | 16 | 0.70% | 21 | 1 298 | |
| Total | 772 000 000 | 29 | 1.26% | 31 | 1 940 | |
| Gabon | Life | 42 000 000 | 19 | 0.27% | 4 | 98 |
| Non life | 153 000 000 | 69 | 1.00% | 6 | 291 | |
| Total | 195 000 000 | 88 | 1.27% | 10 | 389 | |
| Guinea Bissau | Life | - | - | - | - | - |
| Non life | 2 000 000 | 1 | 0.14% | - | - | |
| Total | 2 000 000 | 1 | 0.14% | - | - | |
| Equatorial Guinea | Life | - | - | - | - | - |
| Non life | 37 000 000 | 26 | 0.37% | - | - | |
| Total | 37 000 000 | 26 | 0.37% | - | - | |
| Mali | Life | 27 000 000 | 1 | 0.15% | 4 | 88 |
| Non life | 79 000 000 | 4 | 0.45% | 8 | 295 | |
| Total | 106 000 000 | 5 | 0.60% | 12 | 383 | |
| Niger | Life | 16 000 000 | 1 | 0.12% | 2 | 36 |
| Non life | 54 000 000 | 2 | 0.39% | 6 | 195 | |
| Total | 70 000 000 | 3 | 0.51% | 8 | 231 | |
| Senegal | Life | 136 000 000 | 8 | 0.55% | 9 | 210 |
| Non life | 249 000 000 | 15 | 1.01% | 19 | 680 | |
| Total | 385 000 000 | 23 | 1.56% | 28 | 890 | |
| Chad | Life | 4 000 000 | 0 | 0.04% | 1 | 24 |
| Non life | 24 000 000 | 1 | 0.22% | 2 | 92 | |
| Total | 28 000 000 | 1 | 0.26% | 3 | 116 | |
| Togo | Life | 57 000 000 | 7 | 0.75% | 7 | 177 |
| Non life | 71 000 000 | 9 | 0.94% | 5 | 233 | |
| Total | 128 000 000 | 16 | 1.69% | 12 | 410 | |
| Total | Life | 905 000 000 | 4.82 | 0.36% | 63 | 1 957 |
| Non life | 1 656 000 000 | 8.82 | 0.66% | 106 | 4 997 | |
| Total | 2 561 000 000 | 13.64 | 1.02% | 169 | 6 954 |
Compared to the continental mean value, insurance density and penetration rates remain low in the CIMA zone.
Read also | CIMA zone insurance market
Insurance density in the CIMA zone
The average insurance density in the CIMA zone, that is, the per-capita insurance consumption, was set at 13.64 USD in 2020, compared to an average of 45 USD for the continent as a whole. In Africa, the disparities between countries are very large, with per-capita premium reaching 684 USD in South Africa, against 138 USD in Morocco, 41 USD in Kenya and 6 USD in Nigeria. It is worth noting that the average insurance density at the global level was set at 809 USD in 2020.
The CIMA zone is also characterized by large differences in density among member countries. For example, Gabon's insurance density is set at 88 USD in 2020, while Guinea Bissau's is set at 1 USD.
Moreover, in the CIMA zone, per-capita consumption of insurance products has almost tripled since the institution was set up, rising from 2 500 FCFA (5 USD) in 1995 to 7 292 FCFA (13.64 USD) in 2020.
Read also | CIMA’s non-life insurance market
Insurance Penetration rate in the CIMA zone
Unlike density, which has improved over the years, the insurance penetration rate in the CIMA zone has hardly changed. In 26 years, that is from 1995 to 2020, this indicator had gone from 0.94% to 1.02%, a figure far from the world average of 7.4% and the African average of 2.6%. For the 14 countries in the region, the share of premiums in GDP varies from 1.69% for Togo to 0.14% for Guinea Bissau.
As with density, the penetration rate varies widely across the African continent. With 13.7%, ranking 4th worldwide after Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Cayman Islands, South Africa has the highest penetration rate on the continent, followed by Morocco 4.5% and Tunisia 2.3%. This indicator drops to 0.8% in Algeria, 0.7% in Egypt and up to 0.3% in Nigeria.
The low penetration and density rates of CIMA countries are indicative of the growth potential of the French-speaking sub-Saharan zone. This finding is reinforced by the existence of a population of 187 million, the majority of whom are young people, and where the development of the middle class is expanding rapidly. The regulatory changes initiated by CIMA and the expected increase in insurance demand generated by the economic recovery also support strong future development in the CIMA zone.
CIMA zone: evolution of density and penetration rate: 1995-2020
| 1995 | 2011 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | |||
| Life | 1 USD (513 FCFA) | 2.7 USD (1430 FCFA) | 4.8 USD (2579 FCFA) |
| Non-life | 4 USD (1989 FCFA) | 7.3 USD (3813 FCFA) | 8.8 USD (4713 FCFA) |
| Total | 5 USD (2502 FCFA) | 10 USD (5243 FCFA) | 13.6 USD (7292 FCFA) |
| Penetration rate | |||
| Life | 0.19% | 0.2% | 0.36% |
| Non-life | 0.75% | 0.5% | 0.66% |
| Total | 0.94% | 0.7% | 1.02% |
Read also | CIMA’s life insurance market
