Abstract:
The main objective of the study was to assess the horizontal competitive status of insurance companies in
Ethiopia. The researcher conducted the study by selecting six insurance companies‟ v.i.z the Ethiopian
Insurance Corporation, Awash Insurance S.C, Nyala Insurance S.C, United Insurance S.C, Nile
Insurance S.C, and Zemen Insurance S.C. The study canvassed the horizontal competitive status of
Ethiopian insurers in light of commonly known competition variables i.e. price (premium), product
variety and use of technology and innovation. Besides, the study assessed the legal framework and
practical applications of notorious areas of collaborations (strategic alliances) in the insurance sector.
The study found that concerning insurers‟ competition in premiums, insurers are cutting premiums down
and they are in a situation of a price war. Further, Ethiopian insurers provide traditional and identical
insurance services and very little effort is made by some insurers to introduce new services to the
community. In addition, saving Awash Insurance S.C which employ online claims application and
settlement and Nyala Insurance S.C‟s endeavour to introduce Block Chain Technology to connect the
financial operations of all its branches, other feasible technologies like online claims notification and
settlement, online sales, digital customer advising and follow up, smart contracts, e-insurance etc. are
unknown in the sector. The other point of scrutiny was the legal framework and practical applicability of
horizontal collaboration (strategic alliance) among insurers in Ethiopia. Concerning the legal
framework, the TCCPP under Article 7(1) (a) adopted a rule of reason standard of analysis that allow
competitors to collaborate if technological, efficiency and other pro-competitive gains outweighing the
anti-competitive effect are present. Besides, Article 4(2) of TCCPP empowers the Council of Ministers to
exempt certain sectors vital for economic development from the ambit of competition law though it
enacted no exempting regulation yet. Moreover, the country‟s competition legal regime does not have a
horizontal cooperation guideline. The attached conditions for coordination, “technological, efficiency
and other pro-competitive gains” are found sufficient because other vital requirements such as “pass on
to consumers”, “indispensability”, and the “absence of elimination of competition” can be engulfed in
the law through interpreting the catch-all phrase “other pro-competitive gains”. However, the attached
conditions are not cumulative in the TCCPP. Furthermore, the study revealed that Ethiopian insurers
are not practically utilizing common areas of horizontal cooperation (strategic alliances) like research
and development, information exchange cooperation, and coinsurance saving reinsurance cooperation.
Standardization of terms and conditions of insurance policy is not also practised in the sector. However,
the NBE supervises insurers to safeguard the interest of consumers in the policy terms and conditions and
no standardization is mandatorily required in the sector.
Finally, to escape the existing price war and other competition problems, the study recommends insurers
to focus on other competition variables like brand loyalty (reputation), innovation and use of technology
and introduction of new insurance services. In addition, insurers in the country are recommended to
make strategic alliances. Besides, the study recommends the NBE to come up with a floor premium in
consultation with the Association of Ethiopian Insurers. Moreover, actuarial science at its advanced level
should also be included in the educational system of the country to solve the dearth of experts. The
conditions of coordination in the TCCPP should also be amended to make them cumulative requirements.
It also recommends the Council of Ministers to come up with an exemption regulation for the insurance
sector or the country needs to have a horizontal cooperation guideline to illuminate areas of
coordination. Lastly, the NBE should introduce a coinsurance directive, and information exchange
directive, to create a fertile ground for cooperation (strategic alliances) between insurers. The study also
recommends the Ethiopian Competition and Consumer Protection Authority to give proper attention to
reinsurance cooperation in the country to avoid anti-competitive possibilities