At the end of 2022, the insurance sector of Kazakhstan grew by 10.40%, to KZT 899.59 billion (EUR 1.82 billion). At the same time, insurers' paid claims, in contrast to premiums, jumped by more than 50% in local currency, reaching KZT 196.33 billion (EUR 398.37 million), according to data published by the National Bank.

As the market experts note, despite deterioration of the external environment and risks associated with reinsurance and investment activities, the non-life market in 2022 saw growth in all key indicators. Assets of non-life insurers increased by 9.4% to KZT 1,147.1 billion, which is 55.5% of total market assets.

Sector's liabilities increased by 21.2% to KZT 545.5 billion, mainly due to an increase in unearned premium reserves (+27.8%) and reported but unsettled losses (+17.6%), according to Allinsurance.kz. The industry remains moderately concentrated: 86% of the sector's assets are owned by 7 (out of 17) major players in the general insurance market.

At the same time, in 2022, non-life insurers such as London-Almaty (joined Freedom Insurance) and Kommesk-Omir (switched to life insurance) left the market.

The non-life business increased on the back of an increase in demand for motor vehicle (+53.9%) and property (+13.4%) insurance products. In 2022, 85.8% of all non-life insurance paid claims were for MTPL, property, Motor Hull, and health insurance.

Growth in income from insurance activities (+25.9%) in the form of remuneration on securities (+27.9%) and from foreign currency revaluation (3.2 times) was almost completely offset by growth in the sector's expenses (+33.2%). As a result, net profit of non-life insurers for 2022 did not change significantly - an increase of 2.8%, to KZT 73.5 billion.

The weighted average return on equity (RoAE) for the market was 12.7% (17.0% in 2021) with inflation of 20.3%. Even though non-life insurance premium per capita increased in 2022 (+15%), its level is still almost 3 times lower than the average level of developing countries (S&P), which indicates a high potential for further growth.

Life insurance, in contrast to the non-life sector, recorded a fall of more than 11% at the end of the year. Annuities were the driver of the decline. On the other hand, paid claims in life insurance did not grow as significantly (+19%) as in non-life insurance.

Of the 26 insurance companies operating on the market at the end of the year, EURASIA holds the lead, with its share growing to 18%. The second and third places are occupied by HALYK-Life and HALYK, respectively.

Access xprimm.com and download the latest Kazakhstan insurance market statistics for 2022 in EUR and KZT.