Omani insurance market to expand, led by health insurance

Muscat: Insurance sector indicators showed an increase of OMR12 million in the amount of premiums by 2018, up by 3 per cent.
The indicators also showed structural changes in the distribution of insurance premiums for the first time in the history of the Omani market. Health insurance premiums topped the other insurance products by 33 per cent of total insurance premiums, surpassing car insurance premiums which accounted for 31 per cent of total premiums.
The growing demand for health insurance products comes as a result of the development of the thinking of private sector institutions and the way in which they manage human resources. Many institutions seek to provide attractive job features and improve the working environment. The awareness of the community members of the importance of benefiting from health insurance coverage due to its role in reducing the burden of the cost of treatment when illness or injury. The data indicate that the health insurance sector has been growing significantly in recent years, with a growth rate of 30.5 per cent during the period from 2011 to 2018.
In view of the outlook for the insurance sector in the Sultanate in general, there is a positive outlook for further growth in light of the government's trend towards spreading the health insurance project to private sector employees and visitors to the Sultanate as a result of the expected expansion in health insurance coverage. The number of employees in the private sector covered by the health insurance umbrella is about 450,000 workers.
In the light of mandatory application of health insurance, the number of employees in the sector is expected to reach more than 2 million, in addition to Omanis working in the private sector and visitors to the Sultanate, which shows that the Omani insurance industry is on the verge of a new expansion stage, through the entry of new investment entities, whether in insurance companies, claims management companies or private health institutions, as well as the role of the project in promoting medical tourism and reducing treatment outside the Sultanate, which will enhance the ability of the Omani insurance market to play a larger role in providing employment opportunities in large numbers and ability to absorb the outputs of educational institutions in different disciplines.