The Market Today

Legislation and Regulation

The Central Bank of Cape Verde issued a public procurement (No. 16/2025) on 21 July 2025 to hire consultants to revise and update the legal and regulatory instruments of the (re)insurance sector.

Market Participants

A new insurer, Aliança Seguros, launched in March 2025. The company focuses on motor, travel, workplace accidents and deposit insurance.

Market Participants

General Accident Insurance Company (Jamaica) Limited announced in November 2025 that it had agreed to acquire the Trinidadian insurer Beacon Insurance Company Limited, which also operates in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The deal is subject to the relevant regulatory approvals and, once completed, Beacon will become a subsidiary of General Accident.

Legislation and Regulation

In July 2025 the insurance market regulator extended by one year from 11 July 2025 the grace period for insurers and reinsurers to conform to all the provisions of the Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2004). It was reported in November 2025 that some 47 regulations had been issued in support of this law, representing 80% of all required regulations.

In April 2025 the insurance market regulator raised the ceiling on microinsurance products by 25% to EGP 312,500 in response to economic evolution and in line with the provisions of the Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2004).

In pursuit of the implementation of the Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2004) the insurance market regulator issued in November 2025 Decision No 254 of 2025 regulating the work of the Committee for the Protection of Clients and Settlement of Disputes in Insurance whose scope of activity is defined as being reviewing and deciding on disputes between policyholders and beneficiaries, or third parties or those in insurance-related professions, on the one hand, and any insurance establishment operating in Egypt, including insurance and reinsurance companies in all their forms, whether conventional or takaful, as well as specialised medical insurance companies, microinsurance companies, and insurance pools.

On 19 January 2025, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) issued Decision No 196 of 2024, which sets the new minimum capital requirements for companies in accordance with the Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2024). According to the decision, insurance companies must increase their minimum issued and paid-up capital in two stages over two years from the decision's effective date. In the first year, capital must be increased to EGP 400mn , and by the end of the second year, it should be EGP 600mn. Insurers writing aviation, energy or petroleum risks must increase their capital to EGP 400mn in the first year with an additional EGP 50mn (USD 1.12mn) for each class. In the second year, the capital must be increased to EGP 600mn with an additional EGP 50mn for each class. The minimum capital requirements for other types of insurance companies are also specified under Decision No 196 of 2024.

On 6 February 2025, FRA Decision No 18 of 2025 was published in the Official Gazette, increasing the maximum insurance coverage for microinsurance products from EGP 250,000 to EGP 312,500.

The new Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2024) came into effect on 11 July 2024, although full implementation is dependent on implementing regulations. According to reports, the FRA is currently drafting executive decisions outlining the specifics of the new law. These include specific draft regulations relating to insurer capital requirements, licensing, brokerage business, insurance funds, microinsurance, and reinsurance business. While the new law repeals existing insurance laws, including the Law on Insurance Supervision and Control in Egypt (Law No 10 of 1981), the old laws will remain in force unless they contradict the new law. Companies were initially given one year to comply with the provisions of the new law; however, in June 2025, the regulator announced that it had extended the grace period for full compliance with the Unified Insurance Law (Law No 155 of 2024) to 10 July 2026.

Market Trends

Unusually, there had been no enforced compulsory motor third party liability (CMTPL) insurance requirement and statistics for 2022 show that the motor portfolio made up only 5.9% of total market premiums. Although legislation on CMPTL was passed in 2008, enforcement of the obligation has been continuously deferred. Although it was widely reported that enforcement finally began on 1 July 2025, it was subsequently announced that this had again been deferred with the latest enforcement date now 1 January 2026. Whilst this will certainly support expansion of the motor account, it is likely that non-compliance will remain high given its difficult introduction and regional trends.

In an effort to encourage more foreign investment in Equatorial Guinea, the government adopted a new tax code in 2024 and which took effect from 1 January 2025. Attempting to improve the business environment for prospective investors, it reduced the main corporation tax rate to 25% from 35% and set withholding tax on payments to non-resident entities at 10%, down from 15%. For the insurance industry, it introduced a new Financial Activities Tax (IAF) on premiums instead of VAT.

Legislation and Regulation

Hong Kong has a specific supervision framework for Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SII), whose failure would lead to serious disruption to the local financial system. The D-SII classification methodology was updated in October 2025. In particular, the classification framework will now be a two-step process, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative assessments.

The Southbound Travel Scheme, which allows vehicles from Guangdong to enter the urban area of Hong Kong, was officially launched in November 2025. Under the scheme, the vehicles are required to have motor third party liability insurance issued by insurers in Hong Kong.

To develop a regulatory framework for ride-hailing transportation service, the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025 (No 43 of 2025) was enacted on 23 October 2025. Under the ordinance, each vehicle operating under a licensed platform must maintain third-party liability insurance coverage in compliance with the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance as a condition for obtaining and retaining a ride-hailing vehicle permit.

Market Participants

As of December 2025, there were 160 authorised (re)insurers in Hong Kong, of which 87 were non-life, 51 were life and 19 composite. There were also three special purpose reinsurance vehicles.

A new captive, SAIC Motor Insurance, was established by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and authorised by the HKIA in August 2025 to operate in Hong Kong.

Legislation and Regulation

In early 2025, the ISSM together with the World Bank, prepared a draft reform of the insurance legal framework. The Council of Ministers approved the reform initiative in June 2025, and in November 2025 the Assembly of the Republic passed a legislative authorisation empowering the government to revise the legal framework for insurance in line with international standards. The key changes in the new legislation focus on:

• strengthening governance and management requirements for insurers, based on international standards
• establishing an insurance ombudsman for resolving out-of-court disputes
• redefining rules on risk distribution in reinsurance to better reflect emerging risks
• introducing clear procedures for the liquidation of insurers and reinsurers to ensure legal certainty and better protection for policyholders.

The reform will take effect once the resulting legislation is approved by the government and gazetted. Market sources indicate that the projected timeline for this initiative is currently estimated at two years.

In June 2025, the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill to strengthen insurance sector oversight by replacing the ISSM with the Mozambican Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (Autoridade de Supervisao de Seguros e Fundos de Pensoes de Mocambique - ASFPM). This initiative, driven by the Economic Acceleration Package and the FATF recommendations, will embed stricter supervision and governance standards. The ASFPM is designed to operate in line with the principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Organization of Pension Supervisors.

In May 2025, the first draft of the Personal Data Protection Law was released, establishing core principles for data handling and creating an independent National Data Protection Authority to oversee compliance, enforce regulations, and handle complaints.

Legislation and Regulation

The Act 261/2025 on amendments to certain laws in connection with the consolidation of public finances was passed on 24 September 2025 and officially gazetted on 9 October 2025 by the National Council of Slovakia. Under the Act, the insurance premium tax (IPT) rate will increase from 8% to 10%, effective 1 January 2026. Insurance contracts concluded before the effective date will remain subject to the 8% rate until renewal or modification.

Market Trends

In November 2025, the Insurance Compensation Consortium (Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros - CCS or Consorcio) reported that it had settled around 98% of the 250,946 claims it had received arising from the major flooding in October 2024, while maintaining its previous estimate of total expected payments at EUR 4.8bn. The Spanish insurance market in 2023 ranked 13th amongst 180 countries listed by Axco Global Statistics in terms of premiums for all classes, between Australia and Taiwan. It ranked 10th for non-life business, behind Germany and France in Continental Europe.

Legislation and Regulation

On 13 October 2025, the government initiated a national consultation for the Road Accident Fund Bill, aimed at providing better assistance to victims of road traffic accidents and their families in Zimbabwe. It is expected to be mainly funded from motor vehicle insurance premiums.