Life insurance in Kazakhstan is growing rapidly, but in terms of population coverage and economic share, the country still lags significantly behind developed and even many developing countries, as insurance market data and analysis by the National Bank show, Finratings.kz reports.

According to Finprom analysts, total GWP in the life insurance segment has increased more than 11-fold over the past ten years, from KZT 75.5 billion in 2014 to KZT 834.8 billion in 2024. Moreover, over the past year, its growth rate reached 84.4%. The share of life insurance in total market GWP also rose significantly: from 28.4% in 2014 to almost 50% in 2024, indicating a structural shift in favor of long-term savings and annuity products. This segment has already become the largest line of the insurance business, overtaking traditional property and liability insurance. In January-September 2025, the share of life insurance in the market amounted to 47.9%.

Experts note that the growth in life insurance is primarily driven by pension annuities, which account for almost 49% of all segment premiums. However, life insurance has not yet achieved mass distribution. By the end of 2024, life insurance amounted to only 0.61% of Kazakhstan's GDP. At the same time, in developed European countries such as France, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK, life insurance penetration exceeds 5% of GDP, meaning Kazakhstan's figure is 8-10 times lower. Even in some developing economies, the level of population interest in long-term insurance products is significantly higher: the global average for life insurance penetration in 2024 was 3.1%. Speaking about Kazakhstan, experts attribute this to low financial literacy, weak trust in insurance companies, and a lack of a long-term investment culture.

It is worth noting high concentration in the life insurance segment, where 10 companies operate. In the life insurance segment itself, excluding insurance under the state educational savings system, the concentration is 88.1%, indicating a weak competitive environment and a significant level of monopolization.

Life insurance GWP for January–September 2025 amounted to KZT 670.2 billion (EUR 1.04 billion), which is 15.6% more y-o-y. Pension annuities contributed the most with premiums increasing to KZT 328.6 billion from KZT 295.2 billion the previous year. For comparison, classic life insurance (excluding insurance under the state educational savings system) amounted to KZT 224.5 billion, while mandatory accident insurance of employees amounted to KZT 110.9 billion. Life insurance under the state educational savings system and annuity insurance, excluding pension annuity insurance, accounted for only a token share: a combined total of less than 1% of the sector's total, according to kapital.kz.

*EUR 1 = KZT 643.02 (as of September 30, 2025)