TIRANA, Jan. 26 – Albania insurance market continued registering strong double digit growth rates in 2015, fuelled by a significant increase in compulsory motor insurance which has a market share of about 65 percent.
Data published by the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority shows insurance premiums rose by 21.2 percent to 14 billion lek (€101 mln) in 2015 when the market continued remaining non-life and compulsory insurance oriented.
Paid claims also registered a turning point in 2015 when they grew by 28.3 percent to 3.6 billion lek (€26 mln) compared to an annual growth rate of only 5.3 percent in 2014 when the market grew by a record high of 31 percent.
The compulsory motor third-party insurance, known as DMTPL, increased its market share by 1.6 percent to 50.64 percent in 2015.
Albania’s insurance market registered a record double-digit growth of 36 percent in 2014 fuelled by a sharp rise in compulsory auto insurance rates, which account for the overwhelming majority of two-thirds of the market.
The insurance market suffered a 4.6 percent annual decline in 2013 and grew by 7.8 percent in 2012 before slowing down to 1.8 percent in 2011 and 4.17 percent in 2010 and registering an 11.3 percent increase in 2009 soon after the outbreak of the global financial crisis.
Some ten insurance companies operate in Albania, of which only INSIG remains wholly state-owned following unsuccessful privatization attempts.
In its latest financial system stability assessment, the IMF describes Albania’s insurance market as one of the smallest in Europe, with assets of around 1.5 percent of total financial system assets. “Its development has been hindered by several factors, including lax insurance regulation, low disposable incomes, and a poor record of claims performance,” says the International Monetary Fund.
Albania increased its per capita spending on insurance products by 37 percent in 2014, but still lagged behinds regional countries, according to a report published by the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority.
The report shows Albanians spent an average of 4,009 lek (€28.2) on compulsory and voluntary insurance of vehicles, as well as property and life insurance in 2014, up from 2,929 lek (€20.6) in 2013.
