By Kenza El Rhana
After a strong recovery in 2021, the Moroccan insurance sector returned to its pre-health crisis growth rate in the first half of 2022, with growth of 6.2%. In 2022, the trend is accentuated, and Life and Non-life Insurance experiences growth of 9.5 and 6.1% respectively in the third quarter of 2022.
To support this dynamic, the Supervisory Authority for Insurance and Social Welfare (ACAPS) hosted the seminar of the Group of Francophone Insurance Controllers (GCAF) on 26 and 27 January 2023. With the participation of more than 60 countries united by a common language, this meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the past year and discuss the outlook for the year 2023.
Organized in Rabat, this meeting, led by ACAPS, brought together different French-speaking countries around two main themes: Guarantee Funds and Inclusive Insurance. It provided an opportunity to discuss best practice in these areas and the latest developments in insurance supervision.
The influence and growth of the Moroccan model
The seminar was originally supposed to welcome 20 countries, mixing Africa and the West, but about sixty finally attended. Mainly from Central and West Africa, their presence has shown the influence of the Moroccan model in terms of insurance and financial services. The first African market after South Africa and the third market in the MENA region, the insurance sector in Morocco is experiencing an increase 3 times greater than the national GDP.
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Othmane Khalil Elalamy, president of ACAPS, said at the microphone of the media le360 that the growth rate of the Moroccan insurance sector has increased by 10% to a value of more than 50 billion dirhams. He also reviews the Moroccan experience in terms of solvency estimated according to the risks, the guarantee funds, but also the distribution with more than 2300 intermediaries in the territory.
Financial inclusion, a priority for 2023
With the successful internationalization of Moroccan groups such as Saham, RMA, BMCE Bank or Wafa Assurances, present in more than thirty African countries, the Moroccan insurance target has now turned towards the domestic market. Financial inclusion, i.e. including insurance through microfinance for working classes with limited incomes, should see significant development in 2023.
Financial inclusion, primarily intended for youth, entrepreneurs, populations with specific needs and rural populations, requires digitization of the sale of insurance products and massive use of microcredit. According to Bank Al-Maghrib’s latest National Financial Inclusion Strategy (SNIF) report, microcredit increased by 5% in 2021 to 9 billion dirhams. A trend that is unlikely to reverse.