The African Insurance Organization (AIO)

The African Insurance Organization (AIO) is a pan-African non-governmental organization that brings together players in the insurance and reinsurance markets.

It currently has 421 full and associate members from 60 countries ⁽¹⁾.

⁽¹⁾ including associate member countries outside Africa.

Missions of the African Insurance Organization

The AIO's initial mandate consisted in developing insurance in Africa and strengthening cooperation between the various players in the market.

As with any organization, missions evolve over time, and the AIO is no exception. While remaining true to its principles, the new African institution adjusts its actions and ambitions at each stage of its development.

Today, the AIO's objectives revolve around the following themes:

• developing the insurance and reinsurance business in Africa,
• strengthening market competitiveness and resilience,
• promoting bilateral and multilateral business relations between the organization's members,
• strengthening cooperation between the various insurance markets: information gathering, exchanges of experience, studies and publications,
• encouraging vocational training: strengthening the reception capacities of African training institutions,
• consolidation of insurance pools and other associations,
• establishment of strategic partnerships with international organizations: World Bank, ILO, UNDP,
• development of micro-insurance,
• strengthening the role of African supervisory authorities,
• supporting harmonization of legislation between African countries,
• development of life insurance and pension funds,
• democratization of insurance among African populations,
• promotion of the African Center for Catastrophic Risks (ACCR),
• creation of a catastrophic risk pool,
• promoting scientific research,
• supporting the development of new insurance plans such as agricultural risks.

Achievements of the African Insurance Organization

The African Insurance Organization plays an active role in structuring and consolidating the insurance market on a continental scale. Since its establishment, it has initiated or actively participated in:

• The organization of 50 conferences in various African countries,
• The creation of the annual African Reinsurance Forum, now in its 28th year,
• The establishment and organization of the annual life insurance seminar,
• The coordination of numerous training sessions across the continent,
• The establishment of two literary prizes,
• The establishment of a leadership program in the insurance sector,
• The organization of agricultural insurance certification seminars,
• The development of the AIO mortality table project. The call for proposals for the feasibility study has already been initiated,
• The publication since 2016 of 12 research papers in English and French.

Long-term projects of the African Insurance Organization

The AIO has embarked on a series of long-term projects aimed at bringing added value to its members. These include:

AIO Insurance and Certification Programs

The project was designed to develop certification programs in key industry areas such as insurance leadership, micro-insurance, agricultural insurance, insurance technology and innovation.

The Insurance Leadership program was launched during the 28th Reinsurance Forum held in Cairo, Egypt. The English-language version is provided by the College of Insurance in Nairobi, while the Institut Marocain de Formation en Assurance caters to the needs of French-speaking learners.

The first classes will receive their certificates at the AIO conference in Ethiopia.

The African Insurance Data Repository (AIDR)

With financial assistance from Africa Re, the first phase of this project, aimed at facilitating access to insurance data for AIO members, has been completed.

The data will soon be available on the AIO website, exclusively for its members.

The Agricultural Insurance Project

Set to go live soon, the project will train African insurance underwriters and claims professionals in areas such as product design, pricing and claims management.

This is a collaborative project with the World Bank.

Harmonisation du cadre réglementaire

As the voice of African insurance, the AIO is working to develop a harmonized regulatory framework under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement to facilitate business within the African insurance space.

With funding from Africa Re, the project is being developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Such an initiative would enable companies licensed to operate in one country to do business in others without the need for a new license, thereby promoting true integration.

Actuarial Development

Through this program, the AIO supports the training of young African actuaries by covering their financial costs.

It is open to young professionals from AIO member companies

AIO Insurance Mortality Table

Life and health insurance pricing is a major challenge in African markets, which has considerably hampered the growth potential of life insurance in most regions.

The heavy reliance on European and American tables to price life insurance risks comes with a number of challenges. The AIO Mortality Table Project is intended to develop standardized mortality tables for the African insurance industry in order to improve risk assessment and pricing.

The project is broken down into phases (feasibility study, funding source, integration development partner, market offering and table development). It will enable life insurance underwriters in each member country to access local mortality (and morbidity) data, allowing them to price life (and health) insurance products accurately and fairly, thereby increasing insurance acceptance.

Only financial members of the AIO are eligible to benefit from these projects.

Insurance in AIO member countries

The African economy has experienced a significant slowdown in recent years as a result of an increasingly uncertain global context.

Since 2020, the continent has been facing a series of challenges that are weighing heavily on its growth. The Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical crises (war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East) are also contributing to this slowdown in the African economy.

Added to these disruptive factors are internal challenges such as:

• Political instability in some parts of Africa.
• The decline in African exports, a consequence of the global economic slowdown.
• Rising interest rates in advanced-economy countries, making borrowing more expensive.
• Heavy dependence on China, a country impacted by the global economic slowdown.