Insurance premiums climb as coverage expands
DODOMA: THE number of Tanzanians accessing insurance services increased by 3.4 per cent to 26.8 million in 2025 from 25.9 million in 2024, covering 39.3 per cent of the country’s estimated population of 68.1 million.
According to the Insurance Annual Performance Report for 2025, issued by the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA), the expansion in coverage coincided with strong financial growth in the sector, with gross written premiums rising by 68.4 per cent to 2.55tri/- in 2025 from 1.52tri/- in the previous year.
Also, the insurance penetration rose to 2.11 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from 2.08 per cent in the previous year.
Insurance density, which measures average insurance spending per person annually, increased by 63.7 per cent to 37,455.39/- from 22,878/- in 2024.
Representing Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba at the report’s launch in Dodoma on Friday, Deputy Minister for Finance Eng Mshamu Ali Munde attributed the sector’s growth partly to increased adoption of digital systems in delivering and managing insurance services.
He said the government remained committed to creating a favourable environment for insurance providers while ensuring their services met the needs of Tanzanians.
Eng Munde urged TIRA and industry stakeholders to intensify public education on insurance products to help people understand policy conditions, access services and follow procedures for claiming compensation.
He emphasised that timely settlement of valid claims was essential to building public confidence and called for appropriate legal action against providers that violated laws and regulations.
The Deputy Minister also called for closer cooperation between insurance stakeholders, the Ministry of Health and other institutions to promote health insurance under the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) initiative.
Zanzibar’s Deputy Minister for Finance and Planning, Mr Bakar Hamad Bakar, commended TIRA for strengthening regulation, promoting innovation and protecting consumers.
He urged stakeholders to work together to build a competitive, transparent and trustworthy insurance market, adding that the government would continue improving the policy, legal and regulatory environment to support the sector’s growth.
Presenting the report, TIRA Commissioner of Insurance Dr Baghayo Saqware said the Finance and Insurance sector contributed 8.87tri/- to the economy in 2025, equivalent to 4.80 per cent of total GDP.
The insurance industry accounted for 2.55tri/-, representing 28.80 per cent of the value added by the broader Finance and Insurance sector.
Claims reported by insurance companies increased by 120.8 per cent to 1.61tri/- from 727.7bn/- in 2024.
Insurers paid 1.29tri/-, equivalent to 80.25 per cent of reported claims, while the remaining 317.37bn/-, or 19.75 per cent, was still being processed, including verification and assessment of supporting documents.
The industry’s total market assets rose by 64.7 per cent to 4.06tri/- from 2.47tri/- in 2024. Market net worth increased by 127.1 per cent to 1.89tri/- from 832.2bn/-, while investment assets grew by 59.3 per cent to 2.24tri/- from 1.41tri/-.
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Bank deposits accounted for 44 per cent of the industry’s investment portfolio, followed by government securities at 30.6 per cent, equities at 13.5 per cent and real estate at 6.8 per cent.
The report also highlighted progress in regulatory supervision, consumer protection, digital transformation and improvements to the legal and regulatory framework.
