Insurance sector in Oman sees 11.9% growth in premiums in first half of 2023

Muscat: The insurance sector in the Sultanate of Oman witnessed a growth in insurance premiums during the first half of this year, which recorded an increase of 11.9 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

The unaudited financial statements of the insurance sector’s performance issued by the Capital Market Authority indicated that the total written insurance premiums during the first half of 2023 amounted to about 332.9 million Omani riyals.

The share of national companies represented the largest portion, reaching 85.7 percent of the volume of written premiums. The combined premiums of national companies amounted to approximately 285 million Omani riyals, compared to 250 million Omani riyals in the same period in 2022, while the premiums of foreign companies amounted to approximately 47.8 million Omani riyals. The data showed that insurance premiums for Takaful insurance companies out of the total insurance premiums for all companies constituted 11 percent, with a total value of 37 million Omani riyals, an increase of 4.3 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

The data pointed to an increase in the amount of compensation paid by insurance companies to compensate for the material effects resulting from the risks to which policyholders were exposed, by up to 17 percent, as the net compensation amounted to about 115 million Omani riyals, and the share of Takaful insurance amounted to more than 9.6 million Omani riyals. Of net compensation, a decrease of 6 percent compared to the first half of 2022.

The underwriting results of insurance companies during the first half of this year showed that the “General Insurance” branch led with a value of total direct insurance premiums that exceeded 160 million Omani riyals, compared to 153 million Omani riyals in the first half of last year, an increase of 4.6 percent, followed by the “Insurance” branch. “Healthcare” amounted to 135 million Omani riyals, compared to 110 million riyals, an increase of 22.6 percent. As for life insurance, the value of insurance premiums increased by 10.4 percent, as the total value of direct insurance premiums exceeded 37 million Omani riyals, compared to 33 million Omani riyals in the same period last year.

The value of net insurance premiums in the first half of this year increased by 14.1 percent to exceed 193 million Omani riyals, compared to about 169 million Omani riyals in the same period in 2022. This is due to the increase in net premiums in most insurance branches, as the net premiums of the “individual” life insurance branch recorded the highest increase among all branches, by 69.6 percent, reaching 7.7 million Omani riyals, while the property insurance branch increased by 37.3 percent, reaching about 8.7 million Omani riyals. million Omani riyals, and the health insurance branch recorded the highest value in net insurance premiums at approximately 105 million Omani riyals, an increase of 18.4 percent.

Regarding operational results, data issued by the Capital Market Authority indicated an increase in the value of earned premiums, net compensation, and administrative and general expenses by rates of 10.54 percent, 17.08 percent, and 6.01 percent, respectively.