By Emmanuel Oluebube, Senior Correspondent, UK

Steady growth in gross domestic product, together with international investment, has spurred the expansion of sub-Saharan Africa’s reinsurance market over the past decade, according to a new report from AM Best.

The Best’s Market Segment Report, “Sub-Saharan Africa Reinsurance: Fresh Challenges for Reinsurers as Performance Improves,” notes that while a focus on local African risks has underpinned profitable underwriting results, there is a degree of concentration toward some of the largest markets on the continent. Barriers to entry remain high in many African reinsurance markets and include protectionist local regulations and the presence of state-owned reinsurance companies or specialised state-sponsored pools. The limited competition from global reinsurers is due to a multitude of factors, including the expansive geography of the continent, the small size of national reinsurance markets and the significant cultural and fiscal policy differences between countries.

For additional reports, including AM Best’s annual ranking of the Top 50 global reinsurance groups and in-depth looks at the insurance-linked securities, Lloyd’s, life reinsurance and regional reinsurance markets, please visit Best’s Research.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.