2merkato

The Ethiopian insurance industry is anticipating compulsory third-party insurance proclamation with uncertainty. The attitude of the insurers is primarily because motor vehicle insurance has persistently been unprofitable over the years.

Motor vehicle insurance is unprofitable due to high rates of traffic accidents and consistently increasing vehicle prices and maintenance costs according to industry sources. The motor insurance sector has the highest premiums because of the heavy losses associated with it, explain insiders.

The Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, a state owned company, said that it made a 148.6 million birr profit before tax for the fiscal year to 7 July 2011. It was 15 percent higher than the profit made the previous fiscal year.

The overall asset of the corporation also rose to some 1.5 billion birr by the end of the same period, Wondwossen Iteffa, CEO of the corporation, said. 

Revenue from premium stood at 1.1 billion birr in the period, up by 27.4 percent from last years' income. On the other hand, income from other investments such as dividend on investments elsewhere, rental income from buildings the corporation owns and others yielded 67.6 million birr.

Ethiopian Insurers Association members have agreed to establish their own reinsurance firm. The decision by the association is made after the promulgation of a new directive, Directive No. SBB/1/2014, by the National Bank of Ethiopia to allow the formation of reinsurance companies in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Insurance companies allotted a combined investment capital of 660 million Birr to form an Ethiopian-owned reinsurance company, according to The Reporter.

Ethiopian Airlines has introduced a mobile app and chatbot-assisted shipment tracking service to elevate cargo customers’ experience, the Airlines revealed in a statement sent to 2Merkato.com.