TITLE:
Insurance Penetration in Africa—A Systematic Literature Review
AUTHORS:
Maalila Malambo
KEYWORDS:
Low Insurance Uptake, Insurance Products, Sub-Saharan Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Financial Risk Management,
Vol.12 No.1,
March
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: Insurance in developing countries is not regarded as
a main driver for economic growth as compared to other sectors such as
infrastructure development and technology. However, insurance contributes to
the national economies of many countries in a lot of ways such as employment
creation, tax payment, investment, savings, and risk stabilisation amongst
others. Insurance further alleviates government efforts in the provision of
some amenities such as pension, improving lives of people, economic
diversification, mitigating against risks and attracting Direct Foreign
Investment (FDI) through risk stabilisation. The rate of insurance penetration in Africa is directly rated to the
development and economic growth of a particular country. The systematic review
aims to determine why there is a low uptake of insurance products in the
Sub-Saharan Region using available, accessed, and published literature. The researcher conducted a systematic review in line with the Preferred
Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting
guidelines. The Google search engine, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Library and Scopus
were searched for literature published. The evidence found, was arranged in a
table format and thematic analysis. The findings indicate that poverty, lack of product knowledge, inadequate
sensitization by the regulator and the low-income levels, were the main
contributors to the low uptake of insurance products in Sub-Saharan Africa.