The gross claims paid by insurance firms to clients increased by 2.2% to hit N174 billion in the first half of 2022.
The National Insurance Commission revealed this in its ‘Bulletin of the insurance market performance’ report for the first half of the 2022 financial period.
The report stated, “The growth of the gross claims reported was 0.2 per cent during the quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2021. The industry statistics for gross claims in Q2 of 2022 stood at N174.8bn, representing 47.3 per cent of all premiums generated during the period.
“This occasion reflects the professional underwriting capacity of the industry as driven by the intensified regulatory activities of the commission. The net claims paid on the other hand stood at about N148.2bn, signifying 84.8 per cent of all gross claims reported during the period.
“The life insurance business recorded a near perfect point of about 88.9 per cent claims settlement as against the reported claims, while the non-life segment stood at about 76.8 per cent.”
According to the report, the percentage of incurred claims as against reported mirrored the market retention view during the period.
Motor insurance retained its lead, posting a claims settlement ratio of 92 per cent. Progress was, however, more noticeable in the oil & gas sector with an above 85.7 per cent of claims settlement ratio, an increase of some 42 points compared to its position of 42.8 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Miscellaneous insurance also posted about 61.9 per cent, higher than the 44 per cent paid claims ratio, compared to its corresponding period of 2021; while general accident (75 per cent), fire (76.2 per cent) and, aviation & marine (61.9 per cent) followed in that order.
It also disclosed that gross premium income in the second quarter of 2022 stood at N369.2.8bn, a notable performance as mapped in Table,1 portraying the premium contribution by each class of the business.
The sector recorded an increased rate of growth at about 11.9 per cent quarter on quarter with a total asset of about N2.3 trillion. The industry’s financial position revealed a total of N1.2tn in assets of non-life businesses while the life business stood at about N1.1tn.
