MOROCCO · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- The deal Morocco’s Wafa Assurance agreed to buy 99.98% of life insurer La Marocaine Vie from the Moroccan business group Saham.
- The size La Marocaine Vie wrote 2.5 billion dirhams (about US$250 million) of premiums in 2025.
- The price No price has been disclosed, and closing awaits competition and insurance-regulator approval.
- The customers Policies and conditions stay unchanged for policyholders and clients of Saham Bank, a Moroccan bank.
Morocco’s Wafa Assurance agreed to buy 99.98% of La Marocaine Vie, a Moroccan life insurer, from the Saham group of businessman Moulay Hafid Elalamy, in a statement dated Wednesday 11 November 2026. No price was disclosed, and the deal still needs the insurance regulator’s approval.
The deal matters most to Moroccan policyholders, Saham Bank customers and investors in the Casablanca market, since no US-listed company is involved. It also shows an insurance group adding a life insurer with 2.5 billion dirhams (about US$250 million) of yearly premiums.
What Happened
Wafa Assurance said in its statement, dated Casablanca on Wednesday 11 November 2026, that it signed an agreement with the Saham group to acquire La Marocaine Vie. The two sides also signed a long-term partnership under which Saham Bank keeps selling insurance to its customers.
Wafa Assurance is a subsidiary of Al Mada, a Moroccan investment group, and of Attijariwafa bank, a Moroccan bank. It says it operates in seven African countries and wrote 15.2 billion dirhams (about US$1.5 billion) of group-wide premiums in 2025.
What La Marocaine Vie Brings
Wafa Assurance says La Marocaine Vie has operated in Morocco since 1978 and sells protection, health, savings, supplementary retirement and corporate group cover. Its 2025 premiums of 2.5 billion dirhams (about US$250 million) equal about one sixth of Wafa’s consolidated figure, a simple comparison of the two company-reported totals.
Life insurance is cover that pays out on death or at a set date, and savings products that build capital over years. Saham Bank sells these products through its branches and stays the distribution partner after the sale.
Saham took over La Marocaine Vie as part of its 2024 purchase of the Moroccan businesses of France’s Société Générale. The sale to Wafa would end Saham’s ownership of the insurer after about two years.
What Happens Next
The agreement must be notified to Morocco’s competition council and authorised by the Autorité de Contrôle des Assurances et de la Prévoyance Sociale (ACAPS), the insurance regulator. The statement adds that the agreement contains other conditions.
No closing date was given, and the companies say they will announce completion. Until then, both keep operating as usual, and the companies say customers need take no action.
What It Means for You
If you hold a La Marocaine Vie policy or a Saham Bank account, the companies say your contracts and guarantees do not change. Wafa’s own life business becomes larger, which may matter to investors who follow Moroccan insurers.
Travellers and US companies in Morocco will notice nothing in daily life. Readers who track African finance can watch whether more Moroccan groups buy rivals at home.
What Is Not Known
The price, the closing date and the outcome of the competition review are not known. None of them has been made public by Wafa Assurance or Saham.
It is also not known whether regulators will attach conditions to the deal. The new insurance offers that Wafa and Saham Bank plan to design together are not yet described.
More: Morocco news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Buying La Marocaine Vie?
Wafa Assurance, a Moroccan insurer owned by Al Mada and Attijariwafa bank, agreed to buy 99.98% of it from the Saham group. The statement is dated Wednesday 11 November 2026.
How Much Is Wafa Paying?
No price has been disclosed. The companies also did not give a closing date.
Will La Marocaine Vie Policies Change?
The companies say no. Contracts, guarantees and conditions stay the same for policyholders and Saham Bank clients, who need take no action.
Sources: Wafa Assurance, statement on the agreement with the Saham group, 11 November 2026; Moroccan press report on the approvals and customer terms, 12 November 2026; exchange rate: RT, 14 November 2026.
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