Oman’s health insurance segment grows 17.9% in 2022

MUSCAT, MARCH 4

The health insurance sector – one of the fastest growing segments of Oman’s insurance industry – recorded a 17.9 per cent increase in gross written premiums to RO 191.5 million in 2022, up from RO 162.4 million a year earlier – an uptick attributable to the impact of Covid19 as well as the early uptake of Compulsory Health Insurance, which is set to become mandatory this year.

According to figures collated by the sector regulator, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), based on the unaudited financial statements of insurance companies, the overall industry’s gross written premiums climbed 12.2 per cent to RO 545.5 million in 2022. Aiding this growth was the recovery of the economy, buoyed by high international oil prices and hydrocarbon export earnings.

Insurance companies are gearing up for an exponential rise in the health insurance class when a timeframe for the phased implementation of the Compulsory Health Insurance scheme is announced by authorities. This timeframe, among other supporting guidelines, are anticipated in the Executive Regulations to be issued by the CMA

Known as ‘Dhamani’, the officially titled ‘Unified Health Insurance Policy’ will be mandatory for expatriate employees (and their dependents) of private sector organisations, domestic workers, and tourists and visitors to the Sultanate of Oman. Many large companies and multinational organisations have also extended health insurance coverage to their Omani staff and their families to help attract and retain talent.

Health insurance coverage now benefits an estimated 610,000 individuals in Oman, up from around 400,000 in 2017, according to official data. This number is anticipated to surge over the next several years when a phased timeline is announced for the progressive implementation of compulsory health insurance in the country.

Other classes of the insurance business have also posted positive growth during 2022 in line with the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery. Gross written premiums (GWP) increased 12.2 per cent to RO 545.5 million last year. Growth in the GWP of individual classes was as follows: Group Life Insurance – 26.1 per cent; Liability Insurance – 21.1 per cent; Health – 17.9 per cent, Property Insurance – 14.5 per cent; and third party Motor Insurance – 8.4 per cent.

Overall, the insurance industry has grown to around 21 insurance companies and one reinsurer with combined assets totaling RO 1.197 billion.

Last year, in a move to safeguard the rights of policyholders and to ensure the sustainable performance of insurers, the CMA made it mandatory for insurance companies to adopt a new risk-based approach in calculating their solvency margin of insurance companies, which reflects their ability to discharge their obligations towards policyholders. It replaces the previous mechanism in which the solvency margin was measured according to adequacy of assets compared to the liabilities.

The new approach is expected to bolster investor investment in Oman’s insurance industry.