Between July and October 2020, the number of people in Guatemala exploring options for life insurance online increased by 3%, and the number of Panamanian consumers seeking auto insurance increased by 39%.
CentralAmericaData's interactive platform, Consumer Insights, monitors in real time changes in consumer habits in all markets in the region and in other Latin American countries, with fundamental information to understand their behavior, new trends and anticipate eventual changes in their purchase patterns.
Last year in Nicaragua, insurance sales totaled $199 million, 4% less than in 2018, a drop that can be explained in part by the drop in life, health and accident policies.
Data from the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) detail that between 2018 and 2019 premium sales fell by $9 million, from $208 million to $199 million.
Explained by the behavior of the Costa Rican market, in 2017 Central American insurers received $5.02 billion in premiums, 7% more than in 2016.
According to a report drawn up by Revista Desempeño Asegurador, in 2017 "... insurance sales in the region expressed an absolute increase of US $334.7 million, an amount that represented a rise of 7.1% compared to sales in 2016."
Nearly three years after the crisis caused by the No Pago movement, the sector is growing at an annual rate of 12%, driven by traditional credit, micro-insurance, and health services.
The microfinance sector is beginning its gradual and cautious return to agriculture, the sector most affected by the No Payment Movement, and is taking risks in projects by small agritourism farms.
Products in the category of life, accident and health lead the 6% increase in premiums seen in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2013.
Total premiums paid in the first quarter amounted to $42 million, of which 37.4% were for first party car insurance, 21.0 % for fire insurance and associated lines, 19.09 % for life insurance (individual and collective) and the remaining 6.01 % for health insurance.
In Central America microinsurance coverage is minimal, with rates well below the rest of Latin America.
Throughout the region, Guatemala leads they way in such services with 0.58%, followed by El Salvador (0.13%), Nicaragua (0.12%), Panama (0.06%) and Honduras (0.05%) . According to a study by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Salvadorans prefer micro-life insurance (112,000 people) and health insurance (78,000 people).
Backed by the Central American and Caribbean Network of Microfinancers six companies have begun offering microinsurance to families and small businesses.
Ivan Gutierrez, executive director of the Central American and Caribbean Microfinancers Network (Redcamif), said that "from July this year six microfinance institutions will start to offer life and accident insurance, health insurance and temporary disability income."
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Central America's network of micro-financiers (REDCAMIF in Spanish) are to implement a business model for the development of micro-insurance in the region.
The agreement signed between the IDB and REDCAMIF is backed by a $2.4 million investment to develop the business model.
El Nuevo Diario reports comments from IDB's Nicaraguan representative, Mirna Lievano de Márquez: "In Central America there are few insurance services aimed at micro-enterprises, hence the need to promote this area in view of the great work done by families working hard to support our economy".