Senegal's Ministry of Finance and Budget has endorsed the digitalisation of motor insurance policies, an initiative of the Association of Insurers of Senegal (AAS).
Senegal's insurance sector faces largely a reputational risk at present, due to failing persistently to abide by commitments entered into, according to Mr Mamadou Dème, director of insurance at the Ministry of Finance and Budget.
Insurance companies in Senegal have set up an "Oil & Gas Risks Insurance Pool" to unify their underwriting capacity in this specialty field and also to improve their negotiating power with the international reinsurance market.
The new requirement for insurance companies to increase their minimum capital to FCFA5bn ($8.4m) can put pressure on the profitability of companies, especially for those that are smaller or have lower profit margins, says Mr Mamadou Dème, director of insurance at the Ministry of Finance and Budget.
The insurance sector in Senegal performed well overall in 2022, showing resilience in the face of the COVID pandemic as well as shocks from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, according to Mr Mamadou Dème, director of insurance at the Ministry of Finance and Budget.
Wafa Assurance has posted MAD11.6bn ($1.13bn) in consolidated turnover in 2022, an improvement of 18.9% over 2021. It outperformed the Moroccan insurance market whose turnover improved by 9.3% to MAD54.9bn in 2022.
Johannesburg-headquartered The African Risk Capacity (ARC) has launched a parametric insurance product against high-impact epidemic risks and Senegal is the first African country to join this new innovative financing mechanism.
Gallagher Re, the global reinsurance broking and advisory firm, has been selected by Senegal's Public Solidarity Fund (FSN) to develop a comprehensive risk financing strategy.
The BNP Paribas Group and the pan-African insurance group Sunu have concluded an agreement for the acquisition by the latter of 54.11% of the capital of the International Bank for Commerce and Industry of Senegal (BICIS) owned by the French banking group.
The time limit for paying insurance compensation to victims or their beneficiaries will be reduced from eight months to less than four, according to Mr Adama Ndiaye, the managing director of Senegalese Reinsurance Company (SENRE).