The Market Today

Legislation and Regulations

According to reports, the Algerian Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies released a statement on 29 December 2024 announcing that motor third party liability premiums would increase by a total of 30% in 2025. This will be achieved in two stages: a 15% increase from 1 January 2025 and a further 15% increase from 1 July 2025.

Market Participants

In April 2025, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance had issued licenses to four new insurance brokers, three of which were companies and one individual. With these latest additions, the total number of insurance brokers is now 64.

Legislation and Regulations

On 10 December 2024, Law No 15.040 was published in the Official Gazette. The law creates a new legal framework for the (re)insurance sector, effective one year from publication. This law comprehensively addresses insurance contracts and is more than a consolidation and update of previous legislation. Law No 15.040 is a new framework for insurance law that will be followed by further detailed regulations. The law also contains specific sections on property and casualty insurance, accident insurance, and compulsory insurance. The new legislation repeals articles 757 to 802 of the Civil Code specific to, among other sectors, general insurance and becomes the main source of insurance law in Brazil.  It also repeals Decree-Law No 73/66, which contained provisions on the Brazilian private insurance market.

The act consists of 134 articles divided into six chapters. The first chapter of general dispositions contains 88 articles. The following five chapters are more specific, covering property damage insurance and liability insurance, life and physical integrity insurance (formerly called personal insurances), compulsory insurance, statute of limitations, and final provisions.

Major provisions of the new legal framework are as follows:

• Extended protection for the insured: provisions include banning of unilateral cancellations and the collection of advance premiums; expansion of requirements for clear contract terms; imposition of penalties for non-compliance by insurers; deadline for claim settlement, subject to a single suspension (with the risk of losing the right to deny compensation). Additionally, any ambiguities or contradictions in contracts must be interpreted in favour of the insured, beneficiaries, or third parties, among other measures. These provisions apply to major risks as well as consumer insurances.
• Prescription for claims and triggers of liability: the law redefines deadlines and statute of limitation periods, and differentiation of initial triggers, depending on the ownership of the claim, with different rules for policyholders, insurers, brokers, policyholders, co-insurers and reinsurers.
• Absolute jurisdiction of the Brazilian justice system: the law imposes the absolute jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts in matters relating to insurance in the following circumstances: a) where an insurer is authorised to operate in Brazil; b) the insured or proposer is situated in Brazil; c) the risk is located in Brazil. Insurance clauses written in a foreign language or which reference international or supranational regulation are null and void.
• Digitisation of contracts: the law fully recognises the digitisation of insurance contracts. Indeed, much of the prescription of standardised timescales and standardised contract clauses tacitly envisages and facilitates a move to much greater digitisation in the Brazilian market.
• There is no distinction between large risks and small business and personal lines business.

The main difficulty in the new law in the short term will come from uncertainty, as insurers and brokers work to adapt and devise systems to be compliant. Issues of interpretation will create uncertainty and delay. Market sources have indicated that SUSEP is expected to create further regulation in 2025 to clarify and regulate the transition.

On 16 January 2025, Complementary Law No 213 was published in the Official Gazette, introducing new operating requirements for co-operatives and mutual protection groups. The law, among other things, seeks to bring the previously unregulated co-operative and mutual insurance societies into the national framework of private insurance regulation overseen by SUSEP. Existing societies which are not licensed have a 180 day period in which to become compliant.

Market Trends

Despite challenges in the broader economy and the insurance industry, data of the GDV German Insurance Association (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft eV - GDV) show total domestic direct non-life insurance premiums of EUR 92.1bn (USD 101.2bn) in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%.

Legislation and Regulations

In March 2025, the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Bill 2024 was adopted by the House of Representatives and is now awaiting presidential assent. One market commentator suggested that the increased capital requirements, and expected introduction of risk-based capital alongside, would see an additional NGN 600bn of capital invested into the insurance industry, with a subsequent increase in local capacity.

Market Participants

At the end of May 2025, it was widely reported that the local operations of Allianz and Sanlam had concluded talks on their merger and were close to completing it. This is as part of the wider pan-African joint venture between the two companies.

Legislation and Regulations

It was recently announced that the price cap on compulsory MTPL policies has been extended by a further three months from 1 April 2025 until 30 June 2025.

Market Participants

In May 2025, the Switzerland-based Helvetia group announced that its directors had approved the merger of its Spanish entities Caser, Helvetia Seguros and Helvetia Holding Suizo.

It was announced in May 2025 that the US-based broker Arthur J. Gallagher had completed the acquisition of the PIB Group, one of the largest broking groups in Spain.

Legislation and Regulations

In May 2025, the Congress approved a series of legislative amendments relating to the insurance of taxis. This following protests from the taxi sector about perceived unjustified increases in premiums. The amendments include:

• limiting the increase in insurance renewals for taxi drivers that have not filed more than three at-fault claims in the last two fiscal years
• mandating insurers to disclose information on premium increases and the "bonus-malus" status of policyholders
• limiting the premium for new taxi policies to a level more commensurate with the vehicle's market value