It is exactly 10 years since Gasan Insurance and Galdes and Mamo merged to form one of the leaders in the insurance sector.

Since 1999, Gasan Mamo Insurance has continued to grow in terms of market share, distribution channels and lines of business.

In its first four years, Gasan Mamo acted as an insurance agency, representing CGU Insurance, part of the UK's largest insurance group Aviva. In 2003, the company converted into an insurance company. Gasan Mamo said that this monumental change was implemented seamlessly.

At a gala dinner to celebrate Gasan Mamo's 10 years, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi explained that in recent years, the Maltese insurance sector had transformed itself from a small number of companies operating in the domestic market into an international industry."

The sector now comprises 54 captive and commercial insurance operations, including subsidiaries of major international insurance and reinsurance groups as well as more than 50 companies providing insurance management, brokering and other intermediation services.

Employment in this sector has also expanded: 2008 registered a four per cent increase in employment over the previous year and even this year when compared to a year earlier, employment in the insurance market increased by close to four per cent.

The Prime Minister added that building on its successes, the industry is expected to further expand and increase its contribution to the economy in terms of both value added and employment.