The Fijian insurance industry recorded a positive performance in 2020.

The industry registered expansion in its balance sheet, improved profitability, and a strong solvency position.

The Reserve Bank in its 2020 Insurance Annual Report that was tabled in Parliament highlights total gross premium of the insurance industry grew slightly last year to $369.3 million.

Governor, Ariff Ali, says this was underpinned by endowment products of the life insurance sector, in particular, the single premium life policies.

The industry paid out a total of $224.6 million in claims, comprising of $128.4 million paid by life insurers and $96.2 million by general insurers.

A positive growth in underwriting results also underpinned the increase in after-tax profit of the general insurance sector last year, by 19.6 percent to $27.6 million.

Operating results of the life insurance sector on the other hand, fell by 24.2 percent to an after-tax profit of $16.1 million.

Ali says Fiji being a small open economy has also had its share of the downside impact of COVID-19.

The country recorded one of the worst contractions where it is estimated that the Fijian economy contracted by 15.7 percent in 2020, compared to a 0.4 percent decline in 2019.

Ali adds the outlook for the domestic insurance industry notes the continued capacity to sustain the positive performance of 2020.

In 2021, however, this hinges on the duration and the continued impact of COVID-19 on the Fijian economy.

The challenge therefore for insurers would be determining their strategic direction in the current economic environment, to continue to meet customer needs in terms of pricing and innovative products, ensuring at the same time their operational resilience and business continuity.