The Fijian insurance sector experienced a growth of 7.5 percent in gross premium income for 2023, reaching a record of $440.7 million. This marks the second consecutive year of growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Insurance Annual Report 2023 recently presented in Parliament.
Both general and life insurance sectors showed increased underwriting activity, with the general insurance sector growing by 10.3 percent to $243.9 million, while the life insurance sector saw a 4.2 percent rise in gross premiums to $196.8 million.
In terms of financial outflows, the total net policy payments and claims settled by the Fijian insurance sector totaled $244.5 million in 2023, up from $216.1 million in 2022.
The report highlighted that underwriting activity reached an all-time high for the second year in a row, with both insurance sectors reporting positive growth in premium income. Looking forward, it is expected that this trend will continue into 2024, resulting in healthy solvency and liquidity positions as well as satisfactory earnings.
However, the industry faces challenges such as rising claim payments, increasing reinsurance costs, and affordability issues, which could impact future earnings.