The insurance sector has increased its assets from EGP 47bn in 2013 to EGP 55bn in 2014, according to Mohamed Maeet, Vice President of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA). The sector's 15.1% growth rate has occurred despite the suffering of the Egyptian economy over the past three years, Maeet said. In an EFSA statement issued on Sunday, Maeet said that the contribution of insurance sector investments to the national economy increased this year. The total amount of investments amounted to EGP 48.5bn in 2014 compared to EGP 42bn in 2013, a 14.6% growth rate. Maeet pointed out that policyholder's equity increased from EGP 34bn in 2013 to EGP 38bn in 2014, a 11.4% growth rate. This occurred as the value of the total collected premiums increased from EGP 12bn in 2013 to EGP 14bn in 2014, a 12.1% growth rate. "The value of the total paid compensation increased from EGP 6.7bn in 2013 to EGP 6.9bn in 2014, a 3% increase rate," Maeed said. "In addition to, value of the net investment income increased from EGP 4bn in 2013 to EGP 5bn in 2014, a 23.3% increase rate." The statement mentioned that the commissions' value and production costs increased from EGP 2.1bn in 2013 to EGP 2.4bn in 2014, a 10.4% growth rate. The value of the excess activity also increased from EGP 815m in 2013 to EGP 6.1bn in 2014, as the value of the net profit increased from EGP 1bn in 2013 to more than EGP 6.1bn in 2014. The capital of insurance companies increased of EGP5.3bn in 2013 to EGP 8.5bn in 2014, said the statement. The direct premiums of personnel insurance value amounted EGP 6bn in 2014 with a 8.2% increase on last year, which recorded EGP 2.5bn. The net premiums value increased to EGP 5.6bn in 2014 compared to EGP 9.4bn in 2013, a 15.3% increase rate. General Manager of the benefits department at Arab Misr Insurance Group – GIG Tarek Gamal told Daily News Egypt that the increase of personal insurance premiums comes from customers' satisfaction on compensation services. Gamal said that insurance companies followed a new policy and strategy called "the client who is marketing". This policy encourages persons to pay the premiums through increasing compensation values instead of spending huge amounts of money on advertising and propaganda. "There is a direct correlation between the premium value and compensation value, the higher premiums value, the higher compensations value and the higher endurance rate in premium, the lower premiums value," said Gamal. Gamal revealed that his company had paid compensation amounting to EGP 169.3m to customers by the end of June.
