Assets of insurance firms increased 7.5% to RO1.2bn

Muscat – Aggregate gross written premiums of insurance companies operating in Oman increased by 3 per cent to RO479.85mn for the year 2021 compared with RO465.89mn recorded in the previous year, the data released by Capital Market Authority (CMA) showed on Wednesday.

The data indicated that the rise in total premiums was mainly contributed by growth in life insurance, family takaful and health insurance segments during last year, while general insurance segment showed a mild increase in premiums.

Gross direct premiums of general insurance inched up 0.7 per cent to RO258.67mn in 2021 compared to RO256.95mn in the previous year.

On the other hand, life insurance and family takaful premiums grew by 6.6 per cent to RO57.321mn in 2021 from RO53.752mn recorded in 2020. Gross direct premiums for health insurance segment rose 5.6 per cent to RO163.866mn compared with RO155.193mn in the previous year.

Insurance compensations paid by insurers marginally increased by 0.1 per cent in 2021 compared to the 2020 figures. Total compensations paid by insurers stood at RO289.83mn for 2021 as compared to RO289.6mn in 2020.

Total compensations paid for general insurance policies dropped 8.4 per cent to RO125.522mn in 2021 compared with RO136.975mn in 2020. Compensations paid for life insurance/family takaful increased 38.6 per cent in 2021, while compensations paid for health insurance decreased 0.5 per cent.

Takaful premiums up 9.1%

Gross direct premiums of takaful (Islamic insurance) companies operating in the sultanate increased by 9.1 per cent to RO70.78mn in 2021 from RO64.85mn in 2020. Takaful premiums currently represent approximately 15 per cent of total premiums of the insurance sector in Oman, the CMA data showed.

Gross direct premiums for general takaful increased to RO44.16mn in 2021 from RO41.42mn in the previous year, while premiums for family takaful increased 10.8 per cent to RO 13.47mn. Gross premiums for health takaful rose 16.7 per cent to RO13.15mn in 2021 compared to RO11.27mn a year ago.

Total takaful compensations paid by takaful insurers increased 13.7 per cent to RO38.392mn in 2021 compared to RO33.777mn in the previous year, which constitutes 13 per cent of the total compensations paid by insurance companies in Oman.

Insurers’ assets reach RO1.2bn

Total assets of insurance companies in Oman increased by 7.5 per cent year-on-year to RO1.197bn at the end of 2021. Of the total assets, RO767.64mn were related to general insurance, RO219.97mn were related to life insurance, and RO209.95mn assets were related to health insurance.

The assets of national insurance companies accounted for RO872.48mn or 72.8 per cent of the total, while foreign insurance companies accounted for RO325mn worth of assets or 27.2 per cent of the total assets.

Total net profits of insurance companies dropped by 47 per cent to RO25.76mn in 2021 from RO48.54mn recorded in 2020. The profits of foreign insurance companies were about RO8.07mn in 2021 compared to RO14.938mn in 2020, a decrease of 46 per cent.