IKBZ Insurance Co Ltd, one of the largest insurers in the country, unveiled on Tuesday findings on the insurance market, Insights from Customer Survey, which showed that the insurance market has the potential to grow to K1.75 trillion in the next 12 months and have a market size of K4 trillion in 10 years.

Myanmar has the lowest insurance penetration rate in the region, with only two million of its 54.36 million population having any sort of insurance coverage.

“Current market penetration is very low but we fully expect the industry to meet the regional average of 5 percent within next 10 years provided that there is sufficient access to insurance professionals and a proper suite of products,’’ IKBZ’s deputy managing director Anil Mancham said.

The survey involved 1,000 adults, consisting of equal numbers of men and women and representing 70pc urban and 30pc rural demographics.

The survey highlighted barriers to getting insurance, with 33pc of respondents saying it was too complicated, 22pc saying “karma” forbade them from taking insurance, 17pc said they have no one to turn to for help in understanding insurance, 11pc mentioned affordability and 10pc mentioned costs. However, 60pc of respondents were interested in insurance despite the religious strictures.

“In our survey conducted across Myanmar, we have noticed that there is a compelling need for insurance. While only a small sample of our respondents knew about insurance and insurance products, after explaining the concept of life and health insurance, an overwhelming majority of 63 percent expressed an interest in protecting themselves and their families with an insurance plan,’’ Mancham said.

He noted that most people were focused on health and life insurance products, with many concerned about the wellbeing of their families over themselves. The survey findings showed that 57pc wanted to improve their family circumstances, 33pc wanted to advance in their careers, 32pc to improve their children’s lives and 30pc chose to be a good family member.

Yangon-based IKBZ, which was the first local private insurer formed after restrictions were lifted in 2012, will be forming a partnership with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Inc for general insurance.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/survey-shows-insurance-market-has-potential-grow.html