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Measuring the Technical Efficiency of the Algerian Insurance Market: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach Using 2024 Sector Data


Hassiba Almi
ORCID: 0009-0001-7560-754X
hassiba.almi@univ-annaba.dz
Badji Mokhtar-Annaba University

DOI: 10.26366/PTE.ZG.2026.300

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Cytowanie: Hassiba A., (2026). Measuring the Technical Efficiency of the Algerian Insurance Market: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach Using 2024 Sector Data. Zeszyty Naukowe Polskiego Towarzystwa Ekonomicznego w Zielonej Górze, 24, s. 80-96. DOI: 10.26366/PTE.ZG.2026.300

KODY JEL: G22, C61, L25

This study aims to provide a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the technical efficiency of the Algerian insurance market, drawing on data from Algerian insurance companies through 2024. This encompasses identifying the principal determinants of efficiency and inefficiency, measuring efficiency disparities relative to production frontiers, and comparing performance across ownership categories and market segments — specifically public versus private, non-life versus personal insurance, and conventional insurance versus takaful. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a nonparametric linear programming technique, was employed to assess the relative efficiency of 22 direct insurance companies, comprising 20 conventional insurers and two takaful operators. Both the Constant Returns to Scale (CCR) model and the Variable Returns to Scale (BCC) model were applied, with a primary emphasis on input orientation. Two models were developed based on insurance sector statistics for 2024, as published by the Ministry of Finance. The findings reveal substantial potential for efficiency improvement, as evidenced by an average CRS efficiency score of 0.726, indicating that the sector could sustain its current output levels while reducing resource utilization by approximately 27.4%. Under the CRS framework, only four firms achieved full efficiency — specifically TRUST ALGERIA, CNMA, CARDIF EL-DJAZAIR, and AGLIC. Scale inefficiency emerges as the primary contributor to overall underperformance, with an average scale efficiency of 0.841. This study constitutes the first comprehensive, data-driven evaluation of the Algerian insurance sector's technical efficiency using data through 2024, offering a distinctive analytical perspective on market structure, operational performance, and the specific challenges confronting different firm categories.

Key words: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Insurance Efficiency, Algerian Insurance Market, Technical Efficiency, Scale Efficiency, Takaful Insurance

Submitted: 2026-03-12, Reviewed: 2026-04-28, Accepted: 2026-05-12, Published: 2026-05-15