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%.
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During the first five months of the year, premiums of $643 million were written, 4% higher than the $619 million reported for the same period in 2018.
Statistics from the Superintendence of Insurance show that from January to May 2019, the three insurance companies subscribing the highest proportion of market premiums were Assa Compañía de Seguros, Compañía Internacional de Seguros and Mapfre Panamá, with 26%, 16% and 15% respectively.
In the first ten months of this year, premiums of $1.245 million were subscribed in the country, exceeding in 5% the value reported in the same period of 2017.
The most recent data from the Superintendence of Insurance and Reinsurance detail that between the first ten months of 2017 and the same period of 2018, the value of premiums subscribed went from $1,188 million to $1,245 million.
In Panama during the first three months of the year $367 million was written in premiums, which is 2% more than the $360 million reported in the same period in 2017.
During the first quarter of 2018, the three insurance companies that wrote the largest proportion of these premiums were Assa Compañía de Seguros, Compañía Internacional de Seguros and Mapfre Panamá, with $70 million, $62 million and $56 million, respectively.
In 2017, net premiums collected totaled $1 billion, 22% more than the $829 million reported in 2016.
According to figures from the Superintendency of Insurance of the Dominican Republic, last year Seguros Universal was the company that registered the highest number of net premiums collected, adding up to $216 million, equivalent to 21% of the total market.
Over the past year, premiums totaled $440 million, 8% more than in 2016, led by General Insurance and Accident and illness insurance.
According to figures from the National Commission of Banks and Insurance, at the end of 2017 the loss ratio totaled $200 million, representing 45% of premium income, 3% more than was reported in 2016.
The National Vocational Training Institute in Honduras is putting out to tender collective insurance of medical and living expenses for its personnel, and insurance for buildings, equipment and the vehicle fleet.
In 2017 in Panama, premiums totaled $1.471 billion, 5% more than in 2016, but the loss ratio in fires and floods increased almost four times.
According to a report by the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP), in 2017 market growth was accompanied by an increase in claims, as insurance companies paid out $119 million for the fire and flood coverage policies, a figure that exceeds the $26 million disbursed in 2016 by 365%.
Between January and October 2017, premiums grew 4% compared to the same period in 2016, explained in part by a 9% increase in health insurance and 14% in collective life insurance.
Figures published by the Comptroller General of the Republic indicate that premiums in the Individual Life insurance sector registered an increase of 4.4%, while those of Health increased 9%.On the other hand, collective life insurance premiums increased 14.3%.
Growth in sales of vehicles and homes in the country has generated an opportunity for the insurance business, in a market where penetration is only 3%.
Greater purchasing power and the consequent increase in purchases of homes, cars and other goods is generating interesting opportunities for other complementary businesses.
In January $136 million worth of insurance premiums were sold, below the $138 million sold in the same month of 2016.
The decrease compared to January last year is mainly explained by a reduction in premium segments such as maritime, aviation, technical, various risks and bonds.
Laestrella.com.pa reports that "...In the first month of this year, insurance sales associated with maritime activities decreased by 65.1% and those related to the airline industry shrank by 9.7%.Similarly there were contractions in sales in the technical category (-26.1%), insurance of various risks (-29.3%) and bonds (-4.6%)."
Income from insurance premiums grew by 15% compared to the same month in 2015, reaching $924 million.
From the Monthly Bulletin by the Superintendent of Insurance:
Income from insurance premiums grew by 15% compared to September 2015, reaching ¢497 billion colones.Growth remains widespread by category and personal insurance is still the most dynamic category.The contribution of compulsory insurance, as explained in previous bulletins, responds to the increase in SOA in January 2016 due to accounting changes because RT premiums decreased by 20% year on year.
Health insurance recorded the highest growth, going from $95 million in subscribed premiums up to May 2015 to $106 million in the same month in 2016, which is an increase of 11%.
Between May 2015 and May 2016 the total amount of premiums written in the first five months of the year rose from $555 million to $566 million in the same period this year.
The insurance industry had a turnover of $795 million in premiums, thanks to segments such as health, damages, and vehicles, accounting for 1.2% of Guatemala's GDP last year.
According to the Guatemalan Association of the Insurance Industry (Agis), growth in areas such as health and hospitalization (13.3%), damages (6.9%) and automotive (6.8%) vehicles favored a general growth in premiums in 2015 of 6.3% compared to the amount accumulated in 2014, with total premium income being in the order of Q6.157 million.
In the first quarter of the year, total premiums in the country totaled $338 million, 5% more than in the same period last year, driven by automobile insurance.
Vehicle insurance is the most in demand, reporting $63 million in premiums from January to March 2015, representing an increase of 11.8% compared to the same period last year. The second sector reporting the most growth is health, with premiums of $57.3 million, ie an increase of 6% and finally the premiums for group life reported $41 million, according to the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance in Panama.