Pension annuities and corporate accident insurance dominated Kazakhstan’s life insurance market in the first quarter of 2026. In the non-life segment, demand for voluntary personal insurance policies declined amid cooling retail lending.
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Assets in Kazakhstan’s insurance sector increased by 121 billion tenge (approximately $243 million), or 3.1%, in the first quarter of 2026 (here and below, Kursiv Research calculations based on National Bank data, unless otherwise noted). Life insurance companies (10 players) expanded by 6.0%, while non-life insurers (15 companies) saw assets decline by 0.7%.
As a result, the share of life insurers in the sector’s total assets rose to 58.9% as of April 1, up 1.6 percentage points quarter over quarter, while the share of non-life insurers fell to 41.1%.
According to the analytical center of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, the decline in non-life insurance assets was driven by a 5.0% drop in the value of securities portfolios due to corrections in foreign stock markets, a negative revaluation of foreign-currency assets as the tenge strengthened 5.3% against the U.S. dollar during the quarter, and a deterioration in the ratio of insurance premiums to claims payments.
Market structure remains stable
Only one change occurred among the market’s 10 largest insurers during the reporting period. Freedom Life moved into fourth place by assets, pushing Halyk Insurance down to fifth. However, the composition of the top 10 remained unchanged.
A total of 25 companies continued operating in the market. One company changed its name during the quarter: in March, Kommesk-Omir was renamed Centras Life, ranking 16th by assets.
Fourteen insurers, including eight life insurance companies, increased their assets during the quarter. Nomad Life posted the strongest absolute growth, adding 38.0 billion tenge in assets, followed by Eurasia Life with 37.1 billion tenge. Freedom Life and KM Life also reported notable gains, increasing assets by 17.8 billion and 17.1 billion tenge, respectively.
Life insurance outpaces non-life growth
Net insurance premiums rose 27 billion tenge year over year, or 6.7%. Life insurers collected 240 billion tenge in premiums, up 9.5% from a year earlier, while non-life insurers collected 182 billion tenge, an increase of 3.2%.
According to AFK analysts, pension annuities and corporate accident insurance were the main drivers of growth in the life insurance market during the first quarter. Premiums for pension annuities surged 65.7% year over year, while corporate accident insurance premiums climbed 75.8%.
These two products accounted for 55.7% and 21.6%, respectively, of all premiums collected by life insurers since the beginning of 2026, compared with 33.4% and 20.2% a year earlier.
Retail lending slowdown pressures non-life segment
In the non-life insurance sector, the number of insurance contracts declined to 2.4 million from 2.9 million a year earlier. Premiums for voluntary personal insurance policies fell 30.3% year over year.
According to AFK, the decline largely reflects weaker activity in the bancassurance segment after regulators capped insurance agent commissions at no more than 10% of insurance premiums. A broader slowdown in retail lending added further pressure to the market.
Net insurance claims rose 24 billion tenge year over year, or 27.8%. Claims expenses for life insurers totaled 46 billion tenge, up 45.1% from the previous year, while non-life insurers paid out 64 billion tenge, an increase of 17.6%.
In the non-life sector, claims for compulsory motor insurance rose 27.7%, while property insurance claims increased 48.5%. AFK analysts said higher car insurance claims likely reflected rising repair costs amid elevated inflation and continued reliance on imported auto parts. The increase in property insurance claims may also indicate higher real estate values.
Profitability diverges under IFRS reporting standards
Under IFRS 17, the insurance sector’s net profit reached 67.0 billion tenge in the first quarter of 2026, up 12.7 billion tenge, or 23.5%, year over year.
Profit at life insurers declined to 32.4 billion tenge, down 13.9%, while profit at non-life insurers more than doubled to 34.6 billion tenge, rising 107.5%.
Under IFRS 4, however, sectorwide profit was significantly lower at 31.9 billion tenge, though still up 76.1% year over year. This included 6.3 billion tenge in profit for life insurers, up 111.8%, and 25.6 billion tenge for non-life insurers, up 69.1%.
The IFRS 4 metric is the indicator used by the National Bank of Kazakhstan when disclosing earnings for individual insurers.
According to those figures, only two major insurers posted substantial profits in the first quarter: Halyk Life, with 16.9 billion tenge, and Eurasia Insurance Company, with 14.7 billion tenge. The same two companies, in reverse order, were also the market’s most profitable insurers in 2025.
