Insurance Brokers Sound the Alarm on Industry Flaws

Aug 5 , 2023


Serious challenges in settling Political Violence & Terrorism Insurance (PVT) claims were presented by the Ethiopian Brokers Association (EBA) last week highlighting the vast discrepancies between what customers consider to be covered and the actual services of insurance companies. Following an order by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), a restriction on the use of PVT as a marketing tool has created a gap between insurance companies and the general public. Teferea Wondimu, general manager of Fana Insurance Brokers presented the paper that pointed to the conflicting scopes of cover, placement of cover and perplexing exclusion stipulations in the insurance policies. With 56 insurance brokers, 18 insurance companies and one re-insurer in the country, the lack of reach and density in the sector was also cited by the brokers who bemoaned that their contribution to the industry is under-evaluated. The meeting between veterans of the industry was held at the Anbessa Insurance Building on Haile Gebreselassie St. Another paper presented by Hadush Tsehay indicated that five companies control nearly three-quarters of the market, pointing to a lack of diversity. He emphasised that motor insurance accounts for nearly half of the earnings while acknowledging that the little over 40pc in return on capital was a strong suit of the Ethiopian insurance sector.


Radar

Coffee Exports Bring in $1.5B in Third Quarter

Ethiopia has earned 1.5 billion dollars from coffee exports over the nine months of the fiscal year. The country had set a target to earn a little over a billion dollars by exporting 201,959tns of coffee during the same period. According to Adugna Debella (PhD), director general of the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority, the export strategy continues to focus on major international markets, with the top 10 destinations, including Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the United States (SU), accounting...


Radar

Central Bank Holds Fourth Exchange Auction

The National Bank of Ethiopia(NBE) sold one dollar for 131.4961 birr in its recent auction. It was reported that 26 banks participated in this auction, which took place last week on Thursday. In a statement issued by the National Bank  following the auction, it was indicated that 70 million dollars was offered for the event. Subsequently, it was reported that 96 pc of the foreign exchange needs of the participating banks were met. In the previous auction, held 15 days ago, the bank had of...


Radar

City Registers 64,075 Births in Fiscal Year

The city has exceeded its birth registration target for the first nine months of the fiscal year, registering 64,075 children—71.15pc more than the set goal of 58,342. This success, with a registration coverage rate of 109.63pc, is largely attributed to the efficiency of the one-centre birth registration service system, which has been rolled out across health centres and courts. The total number of vital events registered, including births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths, reache...