“Al Bayan Economic” magazine, the specialized banking, insurance & shipping pan-Arab monthly magazine, published in its February 2021 issue (Issue No. 591) an overview on the non-life insurance premiums collected by the 38 insurance companies operating in Lebanon in the year 2020. More specifically, the article unveiled that non-life insurance premium collections rose by 2.02% in the year 2020 to almost $1.16 billion, from around $1.13 billion in 2019. Non-life insurance premium collections had narrowed by 3.02% in 2019 and widened by 3.44% in 2018, 2.30% in 2017, 3.10% in 2016, 2.40% in 2015, and 5.30% in the year 2014. Al Bayan Economic magazine estimated the losses borne by the Lebanese insurance sector to range between $3 billion and $5 billion before considering the losses stemming from the Beirut port explosion on August 4. The aforementioned losses are a result of the countless crises that shook Lebanon, namely the banking crisis and resulting USD liquidity crunch, the depreciation of the Lebanese Pound against the US Dollar by more than 80%, the resignation of two successive governments, the Beirut port explosion, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of thousands and placed several thousand more in hospitals & in intensive care units.

The ten largest insurance companies operating in Lebanon amassed a stake of 64.70% in terms of non-life premium collections in 2020, with the twenty largest companies controlling a stake of 89.35%. Bankers detained the lion’s share (10.92%) of total non-life insurance premiums in 2020, followed by Medgulf (9.85%), Fidelity (7.16%), and Allianz SNA (6.63%).

The largest increase in non-life insurance premium collections in the year 2020 was reported by Cigna Middle East (111.86%), followed by Securite (49.02%) and Medgulf (38.31%). It is worth noting that 16 out of the 38 insurance companies operating in Lebanon witnessed an improvement in non-life insurance premium collections in the year 2020, while 20 companies suffered a contraction in collections. It is worth mentioning that 5 insurance companies (namely Al Bahria, La Phenicienne, Alaman Trust, Trust Ins and Liberty) have ceased operations.