The Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (ACAL) released its quarterly report on the performance of the Lebanese insurance sector, conveying a 12.21% annual increase in written insurance premiums to $488.40 million in the first quarter of 2021, up from $435.25 million in the same period in 2020. Said increase was mainly buoyed by a 36% rise in motor insurance premiums, coupled with a 28% increase in medical insurance premiums, a 10% hike in fire insurance premiums and a 4% increase in cargo insurance premiums, which altogether outweighed the 20% contraction in life insurance premiums and 2% drop in workmen insurance premiums. Concurrently, the report uncovered a rise in the share of non-life insurance premiums to 81% in the first three months of 2021, from 73% in the same period in 2020. On the other hand, the share of life insurance premiums narrowed to 19% of total written premiums, from 27% in the first quarter of 2020, as policy surrenders on life insurance claims are mostly settled in Lebanon (as opposed to abroad) in local dollars instead of in fresh dollars.

“Medical Insurance Premiums” constituted the lion’s share (46.6%) of total written premiums, followed by “Motor Insurance” (19.8%), “Life Insurance” (19.0%), and “Fire Insurance” (7.4%) only to name a few. In parallel, the report indicated that insurance indemnities paid on policyholders’ claims dropped by 5.21% y-o-y to just above $262 million as at the end of the first quarter of 2021, with “Medical Claims” and “Life Claims” accounting for 34.4% and 31.6% of total insurance claims on a respective basis, followed by “Motor” (14.8%) claims among others.