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The insurance market in Ivory Coast posted a total turnover of FCFA415bn ($743m) in 2020, with the non-life sector accounting for FCFA232bn (56 percent) and the life sector, FCFA183bn (44 percent).

With these figures, the Ivorian insurance market is approaching the standards of the major insurance markets where life insurance dominates the industry ahead of non-life insurance, according to Mr Mamadou GK Kone, chairman of the Association of Insurance Companies of Ivory Coast (ASACI).
In an exclusive interview with Financial Afrik, he said, ”The market has achieved, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a growth rate of 6 percent including 8.6 percent for the life branch and 4% for the non-life branch. We can therefore see that the life branch grew faster in 2020 than the non-life branch. This is not an isolated trend insofar as, over the last 10 years, the life branch has experienced an average annual growth rate of 9 percent against 8% for the non-life branch.”

The insurance penetration rate in Ivory Coast is 1.3 percent. Mr Kone said, “It is very low compared to the enormous potential for growth in insurance premiums in the country. The penetration rate is around 10 percent in countries like France and 13 percent for South Africa due to pension insurance. We are at 1.3 percent and there is no need to say that the gap is huge.”

Ivory Coast has 32 insurance companies operating in it, comprising 11 life insurers and 21 non-life insurers.