Impact of Covid-19 on the Malawian Insurance Sector

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the Malawian insurance sector by stagnating sales due to a reliance on physical distribution and reducing premium income as customers struggled to pay. Insurers responded by digitising the value chain, offering premium holidays, and adopting remote work infrastructure. While the pandemic increased demand for critical illness and income protection products, it created liquidity and solvency pressures due to decreased investment returns and higher operational expenses for digitisation. The Reserve Bank of Malawi provided regulatory relief by suspending on-site examinations and offering a one-year holiday on supervisory levies.

• The pandemic caused sales to stagnate because the sector is heavily dependent on physical sales via brokers and agents, while consumers were initially reluctant to engage with insurers remotely.
• Insurers faced financial pressure characterized by decreased premium income from sales drops and lapses, lower investment returns due to the economic crisis, and increased operational expenses from investing in digital infrastructure.
• The insurance value chain saw specific shifts in claims: motor claims decreased due to movement restrictions, while there was a rise in annuity and pension withdrawals and a sharp increase in accident and liability claims.
• To maintain operations, insurers implemented digital responses including the creation of web portals for brokers and agents, the acceptance of digital signatures, and the use of mobile money or bank accounts for claim payments.
• The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) responded to the crisis by extending supervisory report deadlines, suspending on-site examinations, and providing a one-year holiday on supervisory levy payments.

APA

FSD Africa (2020). Impact of Covid-19 on the Malawian Insurance Sector. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Impact-of-COVID-19-on-the-Malawian-insurance-sector-19.10.20.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Impact of Covid-19 on the Malawian Insurance Sector. 2020. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Impact-of-COVID-19-on-the-Malawian-insurance-sector-19.10.20.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Impact of Covid-19 on the Malawian Insurance Sector |date=October 2020 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Impact-of-COVID-19-on-the-Malawian-insurance-sector-19.10.20.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2020impact, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Impact of Covid-19 on the Malawian Insurance Sector}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Impact-of-COVID-19-on-the-Malawian-insurance-sector-19.10.20.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }