The History of African Insurance: Origins and Early Beginnings

In the early 1970s, several insurers, specifically from Mauritius and Robert Woodthorpe Browne among them, came to recognize that there was a severe lack of communication between insurance market players in Africa. This was also the period that an innovative private reinsurer, Compagnie de Réassurance Mauricienne—also called Mauritius Re in local circles—poured into the market in 1969. Mauritius Re was created with the collaboration of local insurer SWAN, brokerage firm Maurice Tozer & Beck (now AON), and Mercantile Bank (now HSBC). London-based, Mauritius Re conducted reinsurance businesses across the globe.

Here, professionals such as Browne and René Adams came up with the proposal to create a platform for the executives of African insurance companies to create harmony. Mauritius Re and the Insurers’ Association of Mauritius (IAM), previously the Insurance Council of Mauritius (IACOM), went to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to host the first conference in Mauritius, which is a bilingual nation with a developing insurance sector.

The First Inaugural African Insurance Meeting in 1972

With the patronage of the Mauritian government, the first African insurance meeting took place from June 5 to June 9, 1972, in Le Réduit, near Port-Louis. The meeting was attended by 77 delegates from 28 African countries, including insurance undertakings, regulatory bodies, as well as European observers.

A sponsorship committee representing different regions of Africa was established, comprising individuals like René Adam (Mauritius), Sheikh S.M. Balala (East Africa), Hedi Ennifer (North Africa), Ephrem Marie Mba (French-speaking West Africa), and Anthony Kobina Woode (English-speaking West Africa).

The conference aimed at enhancing cooperation between member states of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) insurance markets, addressing the challenge of the continent’s insurance capacity, looking at the creation of an African Insurance Congress, studying the creation of a pan-African reinsurer, and creating frameworks for discourse on issues of common concern.

During this conference, data from 32 African insurance markets—Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia—were presented. The conference resulted in the creation of two technical committees: one to study the feasibility of a reinsurance company in the region and another to address training programs. These negotiations laid the foundation for what would ultimately become the African Insurance Organization.

Official Formation and Early Development of African Insurance Cooperation

The second session took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25 to 29 June 1973, where the African Insurance Organization (AIO) was officially launched. The first General Assembly addressed the organization and operation of insurance companies, electing Tom Okelo-Odongo, Chairman of Kenya Re, as Secretary General.

In 1974, statutes of the AIO were adopted during session three in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Kabisi Pene Yemba Milanga, General Manager of the Société Nationale d’Assurances of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the first Honorary Secretary General.

Growth and Milestones in African Insurance in the 1980s

July 1983 witnessed the launch of the African Aviation Pool in Libreville, Gabon—the AIO’s first insurance pool aimed at developing cooperation within Africa’s aviation insurance community. The organization’s headquarters were moved from Nairobi in 1984 to Douala, Cameroon, which marked a decade of organizational stability and expansion.

Another 1984 milestone was Martha Rene, SACOS Managing Director in Seychelles, who was the first woman president of the AIO, serving until 1985.

Key Milestones in African Insurance Since 1995

The inaugural African Reinsurance Forum was held in Lomé, Togo, in 1995, and the agenda included reinsurance capacity and issues confronting the continent. In 1997, AIO celebrated its 25th anniversary in Cairo, Egypt, where it had a membership of more than 200 from the African as well as the international markets.

The AIO, in 2005, joined forces with the World Bank and UNCTAD to establish the African Center for Catastrophe Risks (A.C.C.R) in Casablanca, Morocco. This added capacity to Africa in managing disaster-related insurance risks.

The launch in 2016 of the annual “African Insurance Pulse” was a highlight of AIO’s drive to provide in-depth analysis of African insurance trends and forecasts. Two further annual research reports have been rolled out since then.

African Insurance Organization: Recent Developments and Current Status

In 2019, AIO released a 2019-2024 strategic plan, which would guide its mission to foster African insurance markets. In 2022, the organization celebrated its 48th anniversary in Nairobi with more than 380 members and supporting the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance.

The 2023 Algiers 49th conference recorded a record attendance of 1,600 insurance professionals, a testament to AIO’s growing influence. The conference also marked the launch of the African Insurance Women’s Association (AIWA) and the African Network of Insurance Associations (ANIA).

During its 50th conference of 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia, Patty Karuaihe-Martin was elected AIO’s sixth female president. The organization also adopted its strategic plan for 2024-2028, reaffirming its vision and setting direction for future growth.