Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
As of the second quarter of 2026, Namibians have taken out or are putting money aside for 2.4 million long-term insurance covers.
From the first quarter of 2026 to the second, they increased by 2.8%. This is according to the quarterly report released by Namfisa this week.
According to Namfisa, funeral cover, individual risk and credit life accounted for 77.8% of the long-term policies taken by Namibians.
As a result, Namibians have put aside N$97.4 billion in long-term insurance savings, which is being grown by various investments.
The top three long-term insurers with respect to asset size accounted for 73.8% of the industry’s total assets.
These are Old Mutual Life Assurance, which held the largest share of the total assets at 34.1%, followed by Sanlam Allianz Life at 25.9% and MMI Holdings at 13.8%.
In terms of liabilities (obligations to pay) they have increased by 0.1% but increased by 9.6 y/y to N$82.4 billion.
The number of claims per class stood at 79,406.
Individual risk recorded the highest proportion of claims at 46.3%, followed by life annuities at 17.0% and fund investment at 15.7%.
These are the premiums paid monthly by those with policies.
Namfisa has also indicated that claims decreased by 2.7% q/q but increased by 8.6% y/y to N$2.9 billion.
As part of the new policies, the industry’s Gross Written Premiums increased by 1.4% q/q and 0.7% y/y to N$3.7 billion.
The regulator has indicated that long-term insurance has a 5.4% penetration, showing that the long-term insurance industry is well-developed, with strong market integration.
The industry’s total assets increased to N$97.4 billion at the end of the review period, resulting in free assets (contributions minus liabilities).
The growth in free assets directly supports the solvency position of the industry, as higher available assets strengthen the sector’s ability to meet its liabilities, meaning the local long-term insurers are able to meet their liabilities.
The solvency ratio remained at 1.2 times quarter-on-quarter, comfortably above the minimum requirement of 1, indicating that the increase in free assets contributed to maintaining a strong solvency buffer.
The insurance savings are invested in various assets across the globe.
According to Namfisa, 50.7% of the long -term insurance is being grown through Namibian assets and 49.3% in assets outside Namibia.
Long-term insurance businesses are subject to capital adequacy requirements (CAR), which are critical for stability and solvency (meeting claims).
The minimum requirement is N$8.0 million for an insurer registered for one class only, except for funeral insurance.
For an insurer registered for funeral and microinsurance classes only, the requirement is N$200,000.
During the second quarter of 2026, free assets (total assets less total liabilities) to the MCR indicated that all insurers complied with the MCR requirements.
