Insurance companies in Lebanon recorded a 5.3% yearly growth in the number of non-life insurance premiums during 2014, according to Al Bayan Economic Magazine. The exclusive report showed that even though the value of non-life insurance premiums stood at $1.03B in 2014 and knocked out the $1.00B mark for the first time in their history, yet the annual progress kept on retreating. In fact, 2014’s growth rate was the slowest in the last 5 years mainly after 2010, when the value of non-life insurance premiums edged up by 12.3% y-o-y. Several reasons were behind the sluggish performance of insurance companies mainly the Arab Spring that emerged in 2011 and its spillovers on the local scene. In addition, the retreating construction activity during the past 5 years and the ongoing rise in insurance premiums pushed non-wealthy customers to downgrade their medical insurance or refrain from renewing the existing insurance contracts. Furthermore, the fierce competition in the market from illegal local and foreign insurers also hindered the sector’s performance in 2014.
As for the breakdown in terms of value of non-life insurance premiums, the top 3 companies were respectively MEDGULF ($114.44M), BANKERS ($106.59M) and AXA M.E ($97.92M). Worth mentioning that the top 10 companies in terms of non-life insurance premiums grasped almost 66.7% of total market value given that the total number of companies is 45. As for 2014’s best performers, they were LIBERTY (+43.2% y-o-y), ALIG (+26.1% y-o-y) and CUMBERLAND (+25.2%). The report also disclosed that the worst performers in 2014 were AL BAHRIYA (-24.7%), UNION NATIONALE (-19.1%) and SECURITE (-16.7%).
Top 10 Companies in Terms of Non-Life Insurance Premiums
Rank | Company | 2014 Non-Life Insurance Premiums (In $M) | Yearly Growth Rate |
1 | MEDGULF | 114.44 | -1.1% |
2 | BANKERS | 106.59 | 23.6% |
| 3 | AXA M.E. | 97.92 | 3.3% |
4 | LIBANO SUISSE | 72.35 | 0.2% |
5 | FIDELITY | 60.63 | 7.4% |
| 6 | ALLIANZ SNA | 57.93 | 4.5% |
| 7 | LIA | 55.82 | 16.8% |
| 8 | AROPE | 55.60 | -1.2% |
9 | ALMASHREK | 38.30 | -0.1% |
| 10 | METLIFE ALICO (NON LIFE) | 30.20 | 10.5% |
Source: Al Bayan Economic Magazine