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Reassurance premiums rise to $83,4 million

Business
ZIMBABWEAN reassurance companies have underwritten gross premium written (GPW) amounted to $83,37 million rising from $80,02m in 2014 mainly buoyed by the growth in business written in engineering insurance.

ZIMBABWEAN reassurance companies have underwritten gross premium written (GPW) amounted to $83,37 million rising from $80,02m in 2014 mainly buoyed by the growth in business written in engineering insurance.

BY TARISAI MANDIZHA

According to the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) third quarter report, the volume of business written by non-life reinsurers during the nine months period ending September 30 continued on an upward trend despite the depressed growth rates in 2014 and 2015.

Reassurance is the contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the latter from losses.

The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract.

The reinsurer is the third party or the company issuing the reinsurance policy.

Ipec said out of business written during the period under review, a total of $10,66m, which accounted for 12,78% of total GPW, was sourced from outside Zimbabwe, implying that local insurers’ capacity enabled them to contribute to the export of insurance services.

IPEC

“Personal liability and engineering reinsurance remained the fastest growing business classes in terms of GPW for the period under review. The growth in the two business classes was the major driver of total GPW,” the report read.

In the period under review, business written by reinsurers remained skewed towards fire and motor insurance, with the two business classes accounting for a total of 57,5% of total gross premium written for the nine months ended September 30, 2015.

Ipec also said in the period under review, the asset base for non-life reinsurers increased by 1,84% from $128,02m as at 30 June 2015 to $132,24m.

“The increase in total assets for reinsurers was mainly attributable to the growth in retrocessionaires’ share of outstanding claims as well as improved uptake of prescribed assets which amounted to $2,14 million and $1,89m respectively,” the report read.

Ipec said cash, money market investments as well as investments in associated companies remained the dominant asset classes for non-life reinsurers.

These asset classes were $64,71m and accounted for of 49,63% of total assets.