Insurance

PNG’s insurance sector is seeing strong growth from a low base, with general insurance assets rising from PGK700m ($333m) in 2006 to PGK1.2bn ($571m) in 2009. Given the relative newness of insurance products to the country’s populace, non-life premiums outweigh life. High-volume subsectors include property, motor and civil construction insurance, but most of the major projects that fuel PNG’s economy are too big to be covered by local insurers. The industry is looking at motor and life insurance as growth areas, but penetrating the rural, unbanked majority of the country’s population will be difficult.