FM Shamshad calls for privatising State Life

Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar said on Wednesday that public-sector dominance in the insurance sector should be reduced by privatising State Life Insurance Corporation. Addressing the International InsureImpact Conference 2023 organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), she said competition should be enhanced in insurance by offering a “level playing field” to private-sector operators. The state-owned life insurer currently holds a market share of around 53 per cent. “We don’t have time. We should go for privatisation as well as foreign direct investment in the insurance sector,” said the caretaker finance minister. Insurance penetration, which shows premiums as a percentage of GDP, is only 0.87 per cent in Pakistan. In contrast, India and Sri Lanka have a penetration ratio of 3.7pc and 1.2pc, respectively. Forty-two insurance companies collected a total premium of Rs553 billion in 2022 on 10 million active policies, resulting in a meagre premium of Rs2,776 per person.