Casablanca – In 2023, the insurance sector in Morocco achieved remarkable financial success, with record profits and substantial growth across key performance indicators. Net income surged by 5.8% from the previous year, reaching 4.5 billion dirhams (approximately $463 million), propelled by a notable 28.2% increase in net investment income driven by a resurgence in the stock market. Despite a slowdown in revenue growth, particularly in life insurance collections, the sector demonstrated resilience and enhanced profitability.

Following a modest 1% increase in 2022, the net income of the insurance sector surged to 4.5 billion dirhams (approximately $463 million) in 2023—a historic annual profit driven by robust net investment earnings. Net investment income closed the year at 8.8 billion dirhams (approximately $908 million), reflecting an important 28.2% increase due to market improvements. This growth contributed to a rise in the sector’s return on equity to 9.6%, up from 9.4% in the previous year. These figures are sourced from the 2023 Annual Report by the Insurance and Social Welfare Supervisory Authority (ACAPS).

Among insurance operators, direct insurers experienced a 6.2% increase in net income, reaching 4.2 billion dirhams (approximately $433 million), while the exclusive reinsurer’s net income stabilized at 282.2 million dirhams (approximately $29 million), showing a marginal 0.1% increase.

The sector’s overall equity also grew by 3.8% to 47.2 billion dirhams (approximately $4.87 billion), driven partly by increased net income. Direct insurers led this growth, with a 3.9% increase in equity to reach 44.4 billion dirhams (approximately $4.58 billion).

Despite an overall slowdown in insurance activity, particularly in life insurance where growth was limited to 1.8%, the sector’s total business volume reached 55.9 billion dirhams (approximately $5.76 billion) in 2023. This growth rate of 3.9% was the lowest in a decade, excluding 2020—the year of the health crisis—according to ACAPS. The deceleration was mainly attributed to a modest 1.5% increase in savings, which account for 87% of life insurance activity. However, death premiums grew by 3.7%, surpassing the 10-year average growth rate of 2.9%.

In contrast, non-life insurance maintained solid growth, with premiums totaling 30.1 billion dirhams (approximately $3.10 billion), a 5.8% increase driven by automotive insurance, which generated 14.4 billion dirhams (approximately $1.49 billion) in premiums—an increase of 4.7%.

Life insurance’s share of total revenue decreased slightly from 47.2% to 46.2% in 2023, while non-life insurance accounted for 53.8%.

Reinsurance activity also saw growth, with acceptance volume increasing by 4.5% to 3.8 billion dirhams (approximately $391 million). The national reinsurer dominated this segment, holding an 80.1% market share, particularly in non-life reinsurance (91.4%).

Overall, the sector’s total business volume—including reinsurance—grew by 4% to 59.8 billion dirhams (approximately $6.17 billion) in 2023.

However, benefit costs increased significantly, with total expenses reaching 55 billion dirhams (approximately $5.67 billion). Non-life insurance saw the largest increase, rising by 41.6%, while life insurance expenses increased by 3.3% to approximately 28 billion dirhams (approximately $2.89 billion).

Operational expenses slightly contracted by 0.2%, totaling 11 billion dirhams (approximately $1.13 billion) compared to the previous year.

The sector’s technical provisions reached 216.3 billion dirhams (approximately $22.31 billion), with 94.1% concentrated among direct insurers.

Investments by insurance and reinsurance companies grew by 5.5% to 217.4 billion dirhams (approximately $22.41 billion), representing 72.7% of their total assets.

Takaful—a type of cooperative insurance based on Islamic principles—also saw growth, attracting a total premium volume of 65.9 million dirhams (approximately $6.80 million) in 2023. Takaful Family, which includes death insurance and investment-linked Takaful, accounted for nearly 90% of this volume.

Despite challenges, such as a technical deficit of 10.1 million dirhams (approximately $1.04 million), the Takaful sector showed resilience. Including a non-technical surplus of 3.5 million dirhams (approximately $0.36 million), the overall deficit decreased to 6.7 million dirhams (approximately $0.69 million) in 2023, down from 15.3 million in the previous year.

The Takaful Reinsurance Fund reported acceptance volume of 5 million dirhams (approximately $0.52 million) in 2023, a significant increase from the previous year’s 0.9 million dirhams.

The article provides a comprehensive overview of the financial performance of the insurance sector in Morocco in 2023, supported by detailed statistics and figures. However, there are a few areas where the article could be improved for publishing: