• Gabon mandates local reinsurance use before foreign transfers
• Policy aims to curb capital flight, boost premium retention
• Insurance market revenue hit $256M in 2024, driven by growth
  

The Gabonese government adopted a draft decree during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, October 23, 2025, requiring insurers to fully use domestic insurance and reinsurance capacity before transferring any facultative reinsurance abroad.

In practice, the decree directs insurance companies to seek capacity first from other licensed firms in Gabon and from the Société Commerciale Gabonaise de Réassurance (SCG-RE), the country’s only local reinsurer. The measure is intended to regulate cross-border risk transfers and strengthen the financial independence of Gabon’s insurance market.

Move Aims to Curb Capital Flight

 “The decree seeks to make the national insurance sector more resilient by ensuring fuller use of financial capacity within the Gabonese market,” the Cabinet communiqué said.

A large share of premiums collected by Gabonese insurers is currently transferred abroad to cover risks with foreign reinsurers. These outflows represent a significant loss of foreign currency for the country.

By emphasizing domestic capacity, the government aims to reduce dependence on foreign reinsurers and channel more resources toward national development. The decree is expected to increase premium retention, limit capital outflows, and strengthen domestic financing for the sector—objectives that align with the government’s broader economic sovereignty agenda, the statement added.

In 2024, Gabon’s insurance market generated total revenue of 144.55 billion CFA francs ($256.6 million), up from 135 billion in 2023, according to local media reports citing compiled data from insurers. Growth was driven by both non-life and life branches, which rose 5.5% and 11.9%, respectively, alongside an overall increase in written premiums across the country.

Chamberline Moko