Syria’s insurance sector is entering a new chapter as the country looks to rebuild and reconnect with international markets after years of conflict and isolation. While the industry remains modest in scale, gross written premium (GWP) nearly doubled in nominal terms in 2024, signalling renewed activity in a market that private insurers have helped diversify since liberalisation began in 2005. With a well-established regulatory framework overseen by the Syrian Insurance Supervisory Commission (SISC), a growing roster of licensed brokers and agents, and specialised administrators supporting the fast-expanding health segment, the foundations are in place for the sector to play a larger role in Syria’s economic recovery.
At the same time, the numbers tell a more complicated story. Much of the sector’s headline growth reflects currency depreciation and inflation rather than genuine market expansion, and insurance penetration remains among the lowest in the region, at a fraction of a percent of GDP. Non-life products continue to dominate, with health and motor insurance together accounting for the bulk of premium income. Meanwhile, life insurance and other longterm savings products remain largely untapped. As reconstruction efforts gather pace and investor confidence gradually returns, closing this gap — and building the products, capital base and distribution networks needed to support a more diversified market — will be central to the sector’s next phase of development and present significant opportunity for those operating within the sector.
Structure & Oversight
Syria’s insurance market is regulated under Legislative Decree No. 43 of 2005 (Insurance Law), which allows private insurers to operate alongside the government-owned Syrian Insurance Establishment. The law established the legal framework for insurance and reinsurance activities, including licensing, capital requirements, corporate governance and prudential supervision. More recently, Law No. 48 of 2022 established the Syrian Insurance Union to strengthen cooperation among insurers and support sector development.
The SISC, established under Legislative Decree No. 68 of 2004, serves as the sector’s primary regulator. The commission is responsible for licensing and supervising insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance brokers, agents and health insurance administrators, while overseeing insurers’ financial soundness through capital, solvency and technical reserve requirements. It also issues implementing regulations, monitors compliance with prudential standards and market conduct requirements, and works to safeguard policyholder interests while maintaining confidence in the insurance market.
Market Structure
According to the latest available data for the financial year (FY) 2024 Syria’s insurance market comprised 13 insurance companies, including the government-owned Syrian Insurance Establishment and 12 private insurers. The market is further supported by seven licensed health insurance third-party administrators (TPAs), together with insurance brokers, agents, actuaries and loss adjusters operating under the supervision of the SISC. Moreover, six insurance companies are listed on the Damascus Securities Exchange and subject to the exchange’s disclosure and corporate governance requirements.
Although insurers offer a broad range of life and non-life products, non-life insurance accounted for approximately 98% of GWP in 2024, while life insurance represented just 2%, reflecting the market’s continued concentration in short-term risk protection products. Private insurers accounted for approximately 54.3% of GWP in 2024 compared with 45.7% for the Syrian Insurance Establishment. This reflects the market structure that has emerged since private insurers were permitted to enter the market under Legislative Decree No. 43 of 2005.
Alongside its supervisory responsibilities, the SISC oversees specialised components of the market, including health insurance TPAs responsible for managing medical insurance schemes and sector-wide mechanisms such as the Motor Accident Compensation Fund. Law No. 48 of 2022 also established the Syrian Insurance Union to promote cooperation among insurers, strengthen professional standards and support the development of the sector.
Recent Regulatory Developments
According to the latest official information available, which covers FY 2024, regulatory activity focused primarily on updating the operational framework governing insurance intermediaries and compulsory motor insurance rather than introducing major legislative reforms. During the year, the SISC issued a number of decisions amending the regulations applicable to insurance brokers and agents, including revisions to brokerage agreements, licensing procedures and the conversion of insurance agent licences into broker licences under specified conditions. Together, these measures sought to update the regulatory framework for insurance distribution while maintaining supervisory oversight of market participants.
The commission also revised compulsory motor insurance tariffs and compensation limits during 2024. These amendments reflected the need to adjust insurance pricing and compensation levels to prevailing economic conditions, including higher repair costs and inflation. In addition, the commission updated underwriting limits for the Engineering Insurance Reinsurance Pool, strengthening the sector’s technical capacity and ability to underwrite larger, more complex engineering risks.
Alongside these regulatory changes, insurers continued to prepare for the eventual implementation of IFRS 17, although the standard had not yet taken effect by the end of FY 2024. Company annual reports indicate that insurers continued to invest in actuarial capabilities, reporting systems and internal processes in preparation for the transition.
Performance & Size
According to the latest official data available, covering FY 2024, Syria’s insurance sector continued to expand in nominal terms despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. GWP increased from SP291.4bn ($23.3m) in 2023 to SP570bn ($45.6m) in 2024, representing annual growth of 95.6%. Although this was the highest nominal premium volume recorded since the liberalisation of the insurance market, the increase should be interpreted in the context of persistent inflation, exchange-rate depreciation and rising replacement costs, all of which increased the nominal value of insurance policies across most business lines.
To provide a more meaningful comparison over time, premium volumes have been converted from Syrian pounds into US dollars using the official exchange rates published by the Central Bank of Syria (CBS). Based on these rates, GWP increased from approximately $34.1m in 2023 to around $45.4m in 2024. The considerably smaller increase in US-dollar terms suggests that a significant proportion of the reported growth reflected depreciation of the Syrian pound rather than a comparable expansion in the underlying insurance market.
Growth in premium income was accompanied by a more moderate expansion of insurers’ balance sheets. Total sector assets increased from SP566.3bn ($45.3m) in 2023 to SP696.3bn ($55.7m) in 2024, based on the official CBS exchange rates. While assets increased by around 23% in nominal Syrian pound terms, they declined in US-dollar terms, reflecting the continued depreciation of the Syrian pound over the period. As with premium volumes, this would suggest that much of the reported balance-sheet growth reflected exchange-rate movements and inflation rather than a comparable increase in the sector’s underlying economic size.
The composition of premium growth also illustrates the market’s continued concentration in short-duration, non-life business. Health insurance accounted for some 50% of GWP in 2024, followed by compulsory motor insurance (13%), comprehensive motor insurance (10%) and travel insurance (10%). Together, these four business lines generated more than four-fifths of total premium income, reflecting continued demand for compulsory cover, institutional health insurance and commercial risk protection, while voluntary long-term insurance products remained relatively limited.
Company disclosures indicate that insurers continued to operate under significant cost pressures during 2024. Across the sector, annual reports identify rising medical expenses, higher repair and replacement costs, inflation and exchange-rate movements as the principal factors influencing underwriting performance. Several insurers also reported that investment income and foreign-exchange gains made an important contribution to profitability, illustrating that reported financial results were influenced not only by insurance operations but also by wider macroeconomic conditions.
Despite these pressures, insurers continued to meet the regulatory solvency requirements during 2024, according to the SISC. At the same time, the sector continued to prepare for the eventual implementation of IFRS 17, with company disclosures highlighting ongoing investment in actuarial capabilities, reporting systems and internal processes.
Although premium income increased during 2024, insurance penetration remained modest. Based on GWP of SP570bn ($45.6m) and the World Bank’s estimate of nominal GDP of $21.4bn for 2024, insurance penetration stood at approximately 0.2% of GDP. Insurance density was also low, at around $1.80 per capita, based on an estimated population of 24.7m at the time. These indicators suggest that insurance continues to play a relatively limited role in the Syrian economy despite the strong nominal growth in premium income recorded over the course of the year.
Over the medium term, further market expansion is likely to depend on broad and steady economic recovery, reconstruction activity, rising household incomes and increased private-sector investment, which would support demand for both commercial and personal insurance products.
Sub-Sectors
According to the latest official data available, covering FY 2024, Syria’s insurance market remained overwhelmingly concentrated in non-life business, which accounted for approximately 98% of GWP, while life insurance represented just 2%. The distribution of premium indicates that the market remained focused on short-term risk protection products, while life insurance continued to play only a limited role in long-term savings and investment.
Health insurance remained the largest business line, accounting for 50% of GWP in 2024 after premiums increased by 119.7% to SP283.1bn ($22.7m). According to SISC data, the segment continued to be dominated by institutional and group insurance schemes, with the majority of insured persons covered through the administrative sector (government employees) and corporate policies.
Rising medical treatment costs and medical inflation also contributed to higher premium values during the year. Company disclosures indicate that insurers continued to review claims management, pricing and underwriting practices in response to rising health care costs, underlining the segment’s importance to overall market performance.
Motor insurance remained the second-largest line of business in Syria’s insurance market in 2024. Compulsory motor insurance accounted for some 13% of GWP, while comprehensive motor insurance represented a further 10%. Compulsory motor insurance continued to benefit from the mandatory insurance framework established under Legislative Decree No. 43 of 2005 and its implementing regulations, ensuring a stable source of premium income for insurers. Together, the two motor insurance segments generated approximately 23% of total GWP, making motor insurance one of the sector’s largest non-life business lines after health insurance.
Travel insurance accounted for 10% of GWP in 2024 followed by general accident insurance (6%), fire insurance (5%), transport insurance (2%) and engineering insurance (less than 1%). While engineering insurance remained a relatively small segment of the market, life insurance represented only 2% of GWP despite recording nominal growth during the year. Overall, the distribution of premium highlights the continued predominance of non-life insurance within Syria’s insurance market, with life insurance accounting for only a small share of total premiums
Distribution Channels
Insurance products in Syria continued to be distributed through a combination of direct sales, licensed insurance agents and insurance brokers. According to the latest official registers, the market included more than 60 licensed insurance agents, around 30 licensed insurance brokers and three licensed insurance brokerage companies operating across several governorates. These intermediaries support the distribution of insurance products by connecting insurers with retail and corporate customers while facilitating policy sales, renewals and claims servicing under the regulatory framework established by the SISC.
Health insurance is supported by a specialised administration model. In addition to insurance companies, the market included seven licensed TPAs in 2024. These companies are responsible for administering health insurance portfolios on behalf of insurers, including claims administration and the management of health care provider networks.
Although the available data do not provide a breakdown of premium income by distribution channel, the established network of licensed intermediaries indicates that agents and brokers continue to play an important role in distributing insurance products.
Reinsurance
Reinsurance remains a fundamental component of Syria’s insurance market. This allows insurers to manage underwriting capacity and limit their exposure to large or catastrophic losses.
Company financial statements indicate that insurers cede portions of premiums and claims to reinsurers under contractual arrangements, with reinsurers’ shares recognised in respect of premium, commissions, paid claims, outstanding claims and incurred-but-not-reported reserves. These arrangements enable insurers to transfer a portion of their underwriting risk, while supporting capital management and their capacity to underwrite larger commercial and industrial risks.
The reviewed company disclosures indicate that insurers utilise a range of reinsurance arrangements, including proportional treaties, excess-of-loss cover and facultative reinsurance. Financial statements also note that insurers assess the recoverability of reinsurance assets and recognise impairment provisions where there is objective evidence that amounts due from reinsurers may not be fully recoverable. While reinsurance reduces insurers’ net underwriting exposure, contractual arrangements do not relieve insurers of their obligations to policyholders, making effective reinsurance management an important component of the insurance sector’s overall risk management frameworks.
Outlook
Looking ahead, Syria’s insurance sector is expected to evolve alongside broader economic developments and reconstruction activity. Recent reforms to improve the investment climate, together with measures to facilitate private-sector participation and attract investment, have the potential to support demand for commercial insurance products across sectors such as construction, infrastructure, manufacturing and logistics. Over time, these developments could contribute to a gradual broadening of the insurance market beyond its traditional business lines and established activity areas.
Health insurance is expected to remain the largest segment of the market in the near term, reflecting its current dominance within the premium portfolio. At the same time, reconstruction activity and increased private-sector investment could create opportunities for insurers to expand property, engineering, liability and other commercial insurance products, contributing to a more diversified market over the medium term as new areas of demand emerge.
Nevertheless, the pace of market development will continue to depend on broader macroeconomic conditions and the wider operating environment. Inflation, exchange-rate volatility and constrained household purchasing power are likely to continue to affect insurance affordability, while limitations in the banking sector and an evolving regulatory environment shape the pace of new investment. Although challenges remain, continued improvements in the operating environment, together with ongoing reconstruction activity and regulatory development, are expected to create opportunities for the gradual expansion of the insurance sector over the medium term, and support broader market development.
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