Insurance Report Very Inclusive, says Governor
The Fijian insurance industry, 2017 could be considered a recovery year supported by the absence of major catastrophe events. This was the statement made by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Governor Ariff Ali in the Insurance Annual Report 2017.
“The year allowed the ongoing recuperation of the industry from the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Winston and TC Zena in 2016, claims of which continued to be settled during the year.
“The combined net profit after tax of the life and general insurance sectors stood at $45.2 million, a turnaround from the net loss of $8.0m reported in 2016.
“Total gross premium income of the domestic insurance industry increased by 3.8 per cent to $323.7m in 2017, attributed to new policies underwritten by general insurers for the motor vehicle, medical and liability classes.
“Life insurers however, registered a decline in gross premium income, as a result of lower premiums received for endowment products.
“Net policy payments and net claims paid grew to $210.7 million in the review year, attributed to payments on matured and surrendered life policies, and claim payments by general insurers.
“Total insurance premiums placed offshore by insurance brokers stood at $46.0m, up from $35.0m in 2016.
“Majority of these were for material damage and business interruption covers.
“The total assets of the Fijian insurance industry stood at $1.7 billion at the end of 2017 compared with $1.6 bn a year earlier, and represented 8.6 per cent of the total gross assets of the financial system. “Reinsurance arrangements and capital levels continued to be assessed as adequate,” Mr Ali said.
Inclusive Insurance
The theme for this 2017 Insurance Annual Report is ‘Inclusive Insurance’ and has been specifically chosen to highlight the ongoing effort of various industry stakeholders including Government, to encourage the take up of insurance in Fiji. He noted climate change and the imminent upsurge in insurance losses globally and in Fiji in recent years have underscored the importance of insurance affordability, challenging insurers to bridge the insurance protection gap.
“In view of this, there is an ongoing need for the industry to not only promote insurance awareness to the general public, but to also develop and offer innovative insurance solutions that meet the needs and affordability of the underserved in our communities.
“I wish to express my gratitude to all stakeholders and development partners for their continued support of the Fijian insurance industry.”
Global report
Mr Ali highlighted that 2017 was a year of historic losses that were largely traceable to natural catastrophes.
These events however, demonstrated the resilience of the global reinsurance industry. Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the United States were the major contributors to the record breaking global insured losses of US$144.0 billion (FJ$306bn) and economic losses of US$337.0 (FJ$337bn).
Notwithstanding these significant losses, the global insurance industry managed to increase its premium income pool underpinned by the sustained growth in emerging markets.