Dar es Salaam accounted for 71.6 per cent of Tanzania's general insurance market in 2025, generating 819.7bn/- in gross written premiums, according to the Annual Insurance Market Performance Report for 2025. The city's dominance reflects a wider concentration of insurance business in a small number of regions. Unguja Urban West ranked second with 121bn/-, equivalent to 10.6 per cent of total premiums, while Arusha came third with 70.2bn/-, or 6.1 per cent. Together, these three regions accounted for 88.3 per cent of the market.
At the zonal level, the Eastern Zone generated 835bn/-, representing 72.9 per cent of total premiums, the report showed. The Unguja Zone followed with 126.9bn/-, or 11.1 per cent, while the Northern Zone recorded 78.7bn/-, accounting for 6.9 per cent. Nationally, the general insurance market generated 1.145tri/- in gross written premiums during 2025.
The insurance sector expanded significantly across several measures during the year. The Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) said the sector's net capital increased from 697.4bn/- in 2024 to 1.89tri/- in 2025. Investments rose from 1.41tri/- to 2.24tri/- over the same period, while total assets increased from 2.14tri/- to 4.06tri/-. Across the entire insurance market, gross written premiums rose from 1.52tri/- in 2024 to 2.55tri/- in 2025.
Growth extended to insurance coverage and employment. The number of insurance policyholders and beneficiaries increased from 25.9 million in 2024 to 26.8 million in 2025, representing approximately 3.5 per cent growth. Of the total in 2025, 8.7 million were policyholders and 18.1 million were beneficiaries. Formal employment in the insurance sub-sector recorded substantial growth, rising from 6,434 people in 2024 to 15,398 in 2025, an increase of approximately 139.3 per cent.
Different insurance segments showed varying rates of growth during the year. TIRA said premiums in general insurance grew by 44 per cent, health insurance by 38.6 per cent and life insurance by 14 per cent. Reinsurance and Takaful insurance recorded more modest growth of 0.3 per cent. TIRA Commissioner of Insurance Dr Baghayo Saqware said the authority is working to complete the National Insurance Policy and improve the laws and regulations governing the industry to strengthen its development.