What Drives Life Insurance Development in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Role of Information and Communication Technology

This paper analyzes the effect of the diffusion of new information and communication technologies (NICTs) on the development of the life insurance industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. The remarkable evolution of NICTs over a recent period has been studied theoretically, empirically, and factually. Their contribution to economic, social, and cultural variables is well documented. However, very little has been written about its contribution to the field of life insurance. Thus, by applying the method of generalized moments in system on a panel of 31 Sub-Saharan African countries during the period 2000–2020, the results show that the diffusion of ICT drives the development of life insurance. Moreover, these results remain valid for middle-income countries and have no effect in low-income countries. Therefore, investment in ICT and good education of the population in their use would contribute to rapid access to information, reduced transaction costs, and better returns from the insurance sector. In addition, policies aimed at increasing the level of per capita income in low-income countries will allow people to have better access to the internet and take full advantage of its potential, which would contribute to sustainable economic development.