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Prior to independence, insurance and reinsurance operations in Africa were predominantly controlled by foreign, mainly European, firms.
Following independence, newly sovereign African states quickly recognized the importance of building domestic financial institutions to assert economic autonomy and curb capital outflows. It was with this objective in mind that the first national insurance and reinsurance companies were founded.
African reinsurers
Atlantic Re (formerly Société Centrale de Réassurance, or SCR), founded in 1960, is the oldest reinsurance company in Africa. It is 94.41% owned by the Moroccan government through the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG).
In the 1970s, other African nations, such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Algeria, followed suit by creating their own national reinsurance companies.
In 1970, Kenya Re was established as the leading reinsurer in East and Central Africa. The company is jointly owned by the Kenyan government, which holds a 60% stake, and private investors, who own the remaining 40%.
Three years later, in 1973, Algeria entered the reinsurance market with the creation of Compagnie Centrale de Réassurance (CCR). This state-owned company quickly became a key player, assuming a prominent role in the African reinsurance landscape.
Africa Re was established on 24 February 1976, with an initial capital of 15 million USD. Its founding shareholders included the African Development Bank (AfDB) and 36 member states of the African Union. The company began operations in Accra, Ghana, before relocating a few months later to Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, which hosts its headquarters today.
Since its inception, Africa Re has steadily expanded its footprint across the continent by opening subsidiaries and regional offices. Today, it stands as the undisputed leader in the African reinsurance market, accounting for 19.4% of the total written premiums in Africa. For several years, Africa Re has also ranked among the world’s top 50 global reinsurers.
Foreign subsidiaries established in Africa
The establishment of subsidiaries and branches by global reinsurance leaders in Africa began well before the rise of local reinsurance companies. These foreign reinsurers primarily chose South Africa, a strategic and mature market, as their base of operations on the continent.
The first physical presence of a foreign reinsurer on African soil dates back to 1950, with the creation of Swiss Re Africa in Johannesburg. Other global players soon followed: Gen Re in 1966, Munich Re in 1968, Hannover Re in 1972, SCOR in 2009, and GIC Re in 2014.
Notably, four of the world’s top five reinsurance groups, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, and SCOR, maintain a presence in Johannesburg.