At the same time, she noted that the share of insurance in total financial assets is only 5%, which is significantly below the average of the countries in the region and the European Union. Key problems include the low level of voluntary insurance, lack of institutional investors, the shallow capital market and low purchasing power of the population. Households in Bosnia and Herzegovina spend around 38% of their budget on food and beverages (while the EU average is around 15%), which limits their investment in insurance, said Selimović.
According to her, the insurance market is dominated by motor insurance, which accounts for over 70% of total GWP, while life and health insurance remain on the margins, and stagnation of life policies is further emphasized by a decline in their market share. Selimović added that perception of insurance among citizens is mostly reduced to a legal obligation, while its role as protection or a form of long-term savings is rarely recognized.
She emphasized that the market is extremely concentrated as top 5 insurance companies hold about 88% of the total market, which indicates low diversification and resilience of the sector.
Inflation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which amounted to 3.8% in seven months of 2025, directly affects the growth of operating costs of insurance companies. This inevitably leads to premium increase, which makes it more difficult to preserve competitiveness and user trust, added Selimović. She explained that health insurance is experiencing the most dynamic growth, driven by the greater interest of citizens in additional protection after the pandemic and the rise in the prices of health services, and that property insurance also suffers from inflationary pressures because an increase in the value of property automatically leads to an increase in insured sums and premiums.
However, despite the challenges, the insurance sector has potential to become a pillar of resilience of the financial system and an engine of development through long-term investments and risk protection, concluded Selimović.
The "Insurance Days in BiH 2025" conference, traditionally organized by the Association of Insurance Companies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this year brought together key local and regional stakeholders in the fields of insurance, supervision and finance.
In the first block of the conference, the Director of the Insurance Supervisory Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivan Luburić, among other things, addressed the challenges of balancing the insurance market’s growth, market shares of insurance companies and maintaining stability of the system, with a special emphasis on insurance risk management.
The conference represents an important platform for the exchange of knowledge, practical experiences and expert opinions, where participants can discuss current challenges and opportunities on the market with the aim of long-term development and strengthening public confidence in the insurance sector.
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