Insurers took in 139.3 trillion rials ($266.4 million) in premium in the first month of the current fiscal year (March 21-April 20) -- up 67.25% on the same period last year.
Medical insurance was again the main revenue source, outperforming the strong and lucrative third-party auto segment for the second month in a row.
The Central Insurance company of Iran (CII) data, insurance companies made 40.4 trillion rials ($76.9 million) selling medical insurance during the period -- 118% higher from the same period last year.
Medical insurance accounted for 29.05% of the collective portfolio in the month -- over and above third-party auto insurance with 27.91%.
During the month companies sold 50,287 medical insurance policies, down 42.11% on the corresponding period last year and 31.7 trillion rials ($60 million) was paid in medical claims, which was 76% higher on the previous year.
Total medical insurance claims declined by 10% to 4.03 million dossiers. An estimated 25 million Iranians have medical insurance.
Third party auto insurance was the second major source of income at 38.8 trillion ($73.9 million) – up 48.09% y/y.
Life insurance was the third source of revenue at 20.3 trillion rials ($38.6 million) or 14.26% of the total in the said month.
Auto body insurance with 7.02%, liability insurance 5.91% and fire insurance 4.25% were the other main earners.
More than 4.23 million insurance policies were sold during the period, 4.35% higher on the previous year. Total payments on claims was 65.5 trillion rials ($124.7 million) – 70% higher y/y.
Third-party vehicle insurance was the next big payout segment at 21% up 78% y/y. Payout ratio in the month was 47.02%, up 0.79 percentage points on the same time a year ago.
The CII report said Iran Insurance Company, the only state-owned company, accounted for the largest portfolio with nearly 25% share of the key industry.
A Growing Sector
Iran's insurance market reported decent growth in the last fiscal year that ended in late March with total premium income reaching 1,754 trillion ($3.2 billion).
The y/y growth was 49.95%, according to the CII, the supervisory body of the industry.
The biggest contributor to insurance premium then was third-party auto insurance accounting for almost 31.2% of the total. Medical insurance was next with 26.16% followed by life insurance 14.10%.
In terms of premium growth rate, the highest was seen in the medical category as it surged by a whopping 102.68% from the year before. Accident, money and transportation insurance came next with 86.8%, 84.38 and 60.73% growth, respectively.
Life insurance premium registered 34.75% rise, though its contribution to the industry's portfolio was slightly lower than the year before, when it accounted for about 15.7% of total premium.
Total insurance sold in the last calendar year was 74.11 million, up 3.65% compared to the previous year. Third-party auto insurance, as usual, had the largest sales with 35.6% of the total, followed by the driver liability at 34.95%.
Total claims paid by the insurers during the period was 1,000 trillion rials ($1.83 billion), with the medical segment at the top with 35.72%. Third-party auto and life insurance categories followed with 33.65% and 9.88% of the total claims, respectively.
In terms of damages, the "oil and energy" category had the highest growth rate at 176% on the previous year.
Medical insurance accounted for the highest portion of claims during the period. CII figures show that from the total 69 .3 million claims, 94.7% or 64 million were for medical insurance.
Payout ratio in the last fiscal was 57.25%, up 1.70 percentage points from the same time last year.
