In 2010, the insurance market grew by 4.17 percent compared to 2009, when the market rose by 11.3 percent y-o-y
TIRANA, Sept. 26 – The insurance market is finding it hard to return to pre-crisis double digit growth rates. Latest data by the Financial Supervisory Authority show new insurance premiums during the first eight months of this year reached 5.9 billion lek, up 7.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The situation remains problematic despite the number of insurance policies doubling to 890,912, mainly because of increased demand in health insurance policies following the liberalization of the visa regime in mid-December 2010. The market continued to remain non-life oriented with around 88 percent of the total premiums, leaving life insurance with a 12 percent share. Voluntary insurance premiums accounted for a majority of 54 percent compared to 46 percent for compulsory insurance. Compulsory motor insurance premiums dropped to 2.7 billion lek, down 5.5 percent compared to the first eight months of 2010. Personal accidents and health premiums during the first eight months of this year reached 586 million lek, registering an increase of 142 percent year-on-year. Health insurance premiums accounted for around 90 percent of revenues within this group. Gross paid claims, 80 percent of which belong to motor insurance, rose by 11.6 percent to 1.4 billion lek. In 2010, the insurance market grew by 4.17 percent compared to 2009, when the market rose by 11.3 percent y-o-y. 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 region of Tirana, where around one-third of the country’s 3.2 million population lives and most businesses operate, accounts for more than 60 percent of the insurance market in Albania, according to a 2010 report published by the Financial Supervisory Authority. The report on Albania’s insurance geography shows the region of Tirana, which includes the districts of Tirana and Kavaja constitutes 61.17 percent of the insurance market.
