Demand for non-life insurance: A Sub-Saharan region panel data analysis

Abstract

The non-life insurance industry is experiencing an ongoing increase in competitive pressures, which has resulted in an increase in the buying power of customers and a shift in their preferences in response to these dynamics. These shifts in the external environment are both propelling innovation within the non-life industry and compelling insurers to centre their strategies on the needs of their clients. The requirements of customers who purchase personal lines of insurance are consistently changing, accompanied by a gradual but discernible shift in consumer preferences regarding distribution channels. There has been an expansion of the insurance industry in developing countries. This growth is promising, but it has shifted the insurance industry's focus away from life coverage and towards non-life policies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Non-insurance demand drivers in African markets were investigated as part of this study. A fixed-effects model analysis of the data revealed that income, unemployment, and urbanisation negatively impacted the demand for non-life insurance in the thirty Sub-Saharan countries surveyed between 2011 and 2021. To a large extent, inflation, domestic credit, and interest rates influence the demand for non-insurance products. Therefore, the study's findings highlight that player in the insurance industry who look forward to this growth can explore the demand for non-life insurance products through macroeconomic disturbances in the economy.