Ann: Suspension from Official Quotation-TGS.AX, page-39

The insurance market in DRC

Posted on 6 May 2016 by miningbusiness
The challenge of liberalization of the insurance sector in DRC is one of the last African countries where the state still has a monopoly of the insurance sector.
SONAS (national insurance company) is currently the only insurance company that can operate in the country and has done so since 1967.
In 2009, SONAS was the state’s leading insurance company, ranked 7th in terms of sales among francophone sub-Saharan countries.
Since then, SONAS has been struggling. In 2013, the steering committee for the reform of public enterprises (COPIREP) announced that SONAS was on the brink of going under if it did not fully restructure its services. On 14 January 2015, the DRC Insurance Code law ended the state monopoly with a 12-month moratorium period -, the time for government to set up the regulatory authority ARCA.
Very recently, the regulator’s main tasks were adopted by the ministerial council, indicating that the members of this authority will soon be appointed. The liberalization of the market well on its way. The insurance market in DR Congo is very attractive: its population is estimated at over 80 million (100 million by 2020) and economic growth over the past three years is estimated at 7% average per year. The country is also currently experiencing a wave of reforms to modernize its economy and governance, including the financial inclusion of all civil servants, which has almost been completed.
The size of the current insurance market is estimated at USD 500 million annually, for the non-life sector alone.
Life insurance for the time being is not covered. The challenges of liberalization.
The challenges of liberalizing the insurance market in DR Congo are considerable.
The first challenge will be to establish a robust and respected regulatory authority to prevent future players from drifting, to ensure the respectability of the sector and to enable sustainable and equitable development of the market.
The second challenge, and not the least, closely linked to the first, is to educate and gain the trust of the Congolese population with regard to insurance in general.
Future players will have to adopt appropriate strategies in terms of marketing and communication in order to include insurance in the Congolese lifestyle.This will require awareness-raising and educational campaigns on the benefits of insurance.
The third challenge will be to provide the Congolese population with products tailored to their needs and income levels (the majority earning less than USD 2 per day) through innovative distribution channels to reach those living outsidemajor urban centres. Its impact on DRC.
The opening of the insurance market in DRC will have very positive effects on the economy and the development of the country in general The arrival of new insurance companies and brokers will directly and indirectly create many new jobs.
By opening its insurance market to private companies, DR Congo will allow the population and private and public economic actors to take out insurance products tailored to their needs, and, as a result, see their future more serenely thereby increasing their propensity to invest.
A liberalized insurance market is also the proof of an economy and government determinedly turned towards modernity; it is a key initiative to encourage.