Insurance in Honduras

Honduras has a formal two-part insurance system. The Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social (IHSS) provides social insurance, while private insurance companies operate under the Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y Reaseguros, Decreto 22-2001. The Banco Central de Honduras (BCH) authorizes the establishment of insurance companies. The Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS), including its Superintendencia de Seguros, registers, supervises and examines them. The CNBS also maintains a public register of authorized insurers and intermediaries. A póliza is the insurance contract; its prima is the price paid for cover, and a deducible is the amount the insured pays under the contract before the insurer pays the covered loss. Social insurance through IHSS has three regimes: REYM, the Seguro de Atención de la Salud for sickness and maternity; RIVM, the Seguro de Previsión Social for disability, old age and death; and RRP, the regime for occupational risks. These regimes apply to private employees and to employees of state, autonomous and decentralized bodies, with expansion by categories and territories taking place gradually. Employers and employees obtain access through affiliation. RIVM benefits depend on minimum contribution periods. The contribution rule recorded for 2024 set RIVM contributions at 3.5% for the employer, 2.5% for the employee and 0.5% for the State. Contribution ceilings and tariffs can change through IHSS guidance, so the applicable current figures should be checked before calculating an entitlement or payroll cost. Private insurance is available directly from an authorized insurance company or through a registered dependent agent, independent agent or brokerage. The CNBS register should be checked before signing. A foreign insurer that is not authorized in Honduras may not insure persons, property or interests located in Honduras; the recorded penalty for this violation is twenty times the premium paid. CNBS registration of a model policy confirms regulatory registration, not payment of every individual claim. Private products registered in Honduras can include life, medical, accident and sickness, vehicle, home and fire, property damage, liability, transport, marine, electronics, machinery, money and valuables, animal and travel insurance. Registered products can also include unemployment cover and fianzas, which are bonds used for purposes such as construction, trusts, tenders and customs obligations. The market is still focused mainly on non-life and property risks. As of 31 March 2025, the CNBS listed 12 authorized institutions: Seguros Bolívar Honduras/Seguros Davivienda, Pan American Life Insurance Company, MAPFRE Seguros Honduras, Interamericana de Seguros/Ficohsa Seguros, Seguros Continental, Seguros Atlántida, Seguros Crefisa, Equidad, Seguros del País, Seguros LAFISE, Aseguradora Rural Honduras and ASSA Honduras. The CNBS profile classified 11 institutions in the third group, which can cover both personal and property risks, and one institution in the first group, which covers personal risks. There is no single national private-insurance premium. The price depends on the insured person or object, suma asegurada, selected coverage, exclusions, deductible, contract term and underwriting assessment. Policies are often annual, but the contract controls the duration and payment schedule. Before signing, compare the tariff, insured amount, premium and other costs, coverage, exclusions, benefits, requirements, deductible, co-insurance, payment method and claim procedure. Read both the general and particular conditions. The insured must provide truthful risk information, pay the premium on time, report a claim and relevant risk changes as the policy requires, provide supporting documents and observe contractual deadlines. A claim, called a siniestro, should be reported promptly. Notice periods and required documents depend on the product and policy. If the insurer does not resolve the matter, the insured first uses the insurer's Oficial de Atención al Usuario Financiero and submits a Hoja de Reclamación. The insurer's response may take up to 10 business days; any extension must state its reason in writing. An unsatisfactory or missing response can be taken to the CNBS Gerencia de Protección al Usuario Financiero through SIGER or SGE. The CNBS procedure can take up to 60 calendar days, and the CNBS decision is administratively binding for the supervised institution. Complaint services are free. Users have the right to clear information about the contract, procedures, costs, coverage and exclusions, a reason for rejection, and a copy and tracking record of the complaint. Changing cover requires the procedure in the policy and usually an insurer-approved endoso, meaning a written amendment to the policy. Coverage can be increased or reduced only when the insurer confirms the change. A beneficiary can generally be changed in writing. A substantial increase in risk can create a notification duty. A sample policy condition requires notice before the event or within 24 hours after learning of the change and allows the insurer to terminate with 15 days' notice when the increase is substantial. Honduras does not have one general cancellation or cooling-off period that applies to every policy, so termination and withdrawal rights must be checked in the specific contract. Market figures do not guarantee the security or payment performance of an individual policy. At December 2025, the sector reported assets of L28,377.2 million, financial investments of L14,189.9 million, technical and mathematical reserves of L8,080.9 million, net premiums of L20,181.7 million, net claims of L4,098.1 million, a loss ratio of 20.3%, profit of L2,080.3 million, return on equity of 25.8% and technical-capital solvency coverage of 3.4 times. These are system-wide indicators, not a substitute for checking the authorized provider, policy wording, exclusions, claims process and financial terms of the selected cover.