Never Waste a Good Crisis

This executive summary describes a study on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the insurance sector in sub-Saharan Africa, based on interviews with 34 industry stakeholders across 18 markets. It outlines how pandemic-related restrictions and economic crises hindered operations and balance sheets, while simultaneously creating an imperative for digitisation and regulatory innovation.

• COVID-19 containment and mitigation measures in sub-Saharan Africa restricted the movement of people, goods, and services, which hindered insurance operations that traditionally relied on physical engagement. This impacted the ability of insurers to launch new products, finalize sales, collect premiums, service customers, and process claims.
• The pandemic-triggered economic crisis strained balance sheets by affecting investment and premium income, likely leading to liquidity constraints. Additionally, the potential for COVID-19 exclusions may impact the reputation of insurers.
• While the pandemic highlighted existing weaknesses in the sub-Saharan African insurance sector, it created opportunities for forced digitisation to improve efficiency and remote customer onboarding. It also pressured regulators to remove barriers to digitisation and encourage innovation, though regulatory responses varied from proactive communication to slow responses that caused uncertainty.

APA

FSD Africa (2025). Never Waste a Good Crisis. https://fsdafrica.org/publication/never-waste-a-good-crisis/

Chicago

FSD Africa. Never Waste a Good Crisis. 2025. https://fsdafrica.org/publication/never-waste-a-good-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Never Waste a Good Crisis |date=30 May 2025 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/publication/never-waste-a-good-crisis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2025never, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Never Waste a Good Crisis}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/publication/never-waste-a-good-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }