Personal accidents and health premiums during the first five months of this year reached 420 million lek, registering an increase of 142 percent year-on-year
TIRANA, June 27 – Albania’s insurance market continued its moderate growth even in the first five months of this year despite the number of purchased insurance policies doubling compared to the same period in 2010. Data published by the Financial Supervisory Authority show new insurance premiums during the January-May period climbed to 3.6 billion lek, up 8.79 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while insurance policies doubled to 512,876. The market continues to have minimal life-insurance sales, with only a 12 percent share of total purchased premiums. Voluntary insurance premiums accounted for a majority of 57 percent compared to 43 percent for compulsory insurance. Personal accidents and health premiums during the first five months of this year reached 420 million lek, registering an increase of 142 percent year-on-year. Health insurance premiums accounted for around 90 percent of revenues within this group. The considerable increase is also a result of the visa liberalization regime Albania has been enjoying since mid-December 2010, which significantly raised compulsory insurance purchases during trips abroad. Gross paid claims continued growing by 9.17 percent to 903 million lek. The majority of them, some 78 percent of the total, belong to motor insurance. According to the Financial Supervision Authority, Albania continues to be one of the countries with the lowest annual consumption per capita of insurance. Albanians pay on average 20 dollars annually for compulsory and voluntary insurance of vehicles, as well as property and life insurance– a small amount compared to other European countries. The insurance market continues to be dominated by Sigal, which held 26 percent of the compulsory and 46 percent of the voluntary market during January-April 2011. State-owned insurer Insig, which has been put on the privatization list of public assets, is currently the fifth largest insurer, controlling 6.3 percent of the compulsory market and 11.4 percent of the voluntary. All 10 licensed companies active in the sector are domestic, but since 2007, Albania has attracted increased foreign (EU) participation.
