Iranian insurance companies generated 817.3 trillion rials ($3.43 billion) in premium income in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21) posting 37.8% growth compared to the year before.
Data released by the Central Insurance company of Iran, the industry regulator, show third-party vehicle insurance still tops the list alone generating one-third of the premium income.
Insurance companies sold 24.7 million third-party auto insurance policies last year worth 274 trillion rials ($1.15 billion). This was a 33.5% and 36% growth in premium income and the total policies sold.
Medical insurance was the second major source. Companies sold 576,300 medical insurance policies to make 156.4 trillion rials ($657.1 million) last year. The number of policies, however, showed an annual decline of 85.4%. But premium income of the category was 15% higher than the previous year.
The life insurance segment generated 126.8 trillion rials ($532.7 m) up 44.4% year-on-year accounting for 15.5% of insurance companies' portfolio. Insurance and life insurance companies sold 7.14 million life insurance policies last year up 4% year-on-year.
Vehicle body insurance accounted for 8.74% of the insurers' portfolio generating 71.3 trillion rials ($299.5m) up 62% year-on-year.
According to CII, premium per capita grew by 34.3% last year to reach 972,000 rials ($40.8).
Payouts
Insurance companies total payouts amounted to 436.7 trillion rials ($1.83b) during the year, up 30% compared with the year before. Third party vehicle insurance accounted for 40% of the total payouts at 175.2 trillion rials ($736.1m), up 27.7%.
The growth seems to be mostly due to rise in the price of vehicles as the number of claims in this category fell 13% to 1.15 million last year.
Medical insurance payouts accounted for 27% or 118.1 trillion rials ($496.2m) of the total payouts up 18.7%. Insurers paid claims to more than 31 million cases in the medical category, up 50% year-on-year. The category accounted for 90% of the total number of claims during the year to March 2021.
The rise in medical insurance claims is related largely to the Covid-19 pandemic, which so far has infected 2.39 million people. The official death toll reached 69,574 on Sunday while 1.87 million have recovered. Insurers have been urged to broaden the scope of medical insurance to cover costs of the deadly coronavirus, including medicine approved by the Health Ministry.
All insurance firms are struggling to minimize the negative impact of the plague on their business. Several companies have extended cover to include a part of hospital bills of the insured afflicted by the deadly virus.
