Insurance
From The Report: Egypt 2017
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The Egyptian insurance industry, one of the oldest in the region, has shown a welcome degree of resilience in recent years. Despite its long history, however, the market remains at a relatively nascent stage of growth compared to those in more advanced economies, characterised by a low penetration rate and modest insurance density. While this means that growth opportunities abound, questions remain as to how they will be achieved. Despite these obstacles, there is significant potential for development in Egypt’s insurance industry. Oil importing economies in the MENA region, such as Egypt, are likely to see premiums grow in excess of GDP growth where governments are able to maintain their determined development plans.

This chapter contains an interview with Corneille Karekezi, Group CEO, Africa Re.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Catching up: The sector posts strong growth in a tough economic context
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The Egyptian insurance industry, one of the oldest in the region, has shown a welcome degree of resilience in recent years. Despite its long history, however, the market remains at a relatively nascent stage of growth compared to those in advanced economies, characterised by a low penetration rate and modest insurance density. While this means that growth opportunities abound, questions remain as to how this will be achieved. Much hinges on the anticipated promulgation of new insurance legislation,…

Interview

Assessing the marketplace: Corneille Karekezi, Group CEO, Africa Re, on the domestic reinsurance market and international competition
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Interview: Corneille Karekezi What impact has the depreciation of the Egyptian pound had on the reinsurance industry? CORNEILLE KAREKEZI: An immediate negative effect for reinsurers is the loss of their local income and reserves in local currencies. Despite the fact that the devaluation is partially compensated by high interest in the pound, it does not fully compensate for the negative effect on balances. Furthermore, companies also have difficulty transferring money to foreign service providers…

Analysis

Rest assured: Regulatory framework for bancassurance among the most flexible in the region
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The recent history of bancassurance in Egypt has at times been a troubled one. While the concept was enthusiastically adopted in the period of sustained economic growth leading up to 2008, the pace of the industry’s expansion exposed a number of weaknesses. Chief among these were a lack of adequately trained staff and an increasing amount of mis-selling. In 2008 these issues were deemed serious enough by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) that it imposed a moratorium on the forming of new bancassurance…

Analysis

Full of hope: High growth assures stakeholders of takaful’s bright future
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With nine operators in the Egyptian insurance sector offeringtakaful(Islamic insurance), sharia-compliant coverage is already a well-established component of the industry. Many market observers, however, feel that compared to its success in the Gulf, the Egyptian takaful story is one of unrealised potential. Thankfully, the Insurance Federation of Egypt is of the same opinion, and having identified sharia-compliant insurance as one of three key segments for future development, along…