The fire insurance branch has faced challenges for many years related to high and frequent losses, which require concerted efforts to improve pricing mechanisms and technical evaluation, said Dr Tarek Seif, Vice Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority.
In a speech delivered on behalf of FRA Chairman Dr Islam Azzam, at a recent conference on “Reducing Losses in the Fire Insurance Branch in the Egyptian Market”, Dr Seif said that the loss ratio in the branch reached 37% in 2025. Highlighting the importance of fire insurance, he said that the branch contributed 18% of the total premiums of the overall insurance market in Egypt in 2025, according to a report by Amwal Alghad.
He said that the FRA’s goals for developing the market are based on two pillars:
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Risk management and engineering: The need to invest in risk engineering and loss control before and after an incident (Pre & post-loss control), and to expand comprehensive and innovative insurance coverage.
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Technology and insurance inclusion: Moving from traditional assessment methods to “predictive risk measures” by leveraging artificial intelligence and financial technology, along with increasing insurance inclusion to reach groups most in need of coverage.
Premiums and claims
Premiums generated in the fire insurance branch in the Egyptian market have recorded remarkable growth over the past years, rising by 510% during the period from the fiscal year 2014-15 (FY2015) to FY2024, according to Mr Alaa El-Zoheiry, Chairman of the Insurers Federation of Egypt (IFE).
Speaking at the conference, he said that the net premiums of the fire insurance branch increased in FY2024 to EGP8.2bn ($189m at the 2024 average exchange rate) from about EGP1.35bn in FY2015.
He added that the total compensation paid in the fire insurance branch doubled from EGP749m in FY2015 to about EGP1.5bn in FY2024.
He pointed out that fire is one of the main causes of death and injury, stressing that prevention is the first line of defence to reduce losses caused by these risks.
He said that raising the level of protection, prevention, alarm and safety measures directly contributes to reducing accident and loss rates, noting the Federation’s cooperation with a number of entities, including the Ahl Masr Foundation for Development, to implement community partnership programmes aimed at raising awareness of fire hazards and increasing preventive awareness. These initiatives began by targeting workshop owners and children in several areas, through methods that suit the nature and needs of each group.
Mr El-Zoheiry called on civil society organisations to strengthen cooperation with the IFE to reach the largest possible number of targeted areas and groups, to spread a culture of fire prevention and loss reduction.