While the Arab region is already the planet’s most water insecure and food-import-dependent region, temperatures in the region are now rising faster than the global average, with climate change threatening to reduce food and water productivity by a further 20% by 2030, warned the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Six companies within the EMEA region have won the prestigious LOMA Education Awards this year. Britam (Kenya) and Zurich International Life (UAE) have been awarded the Excellence in Education Award, while Sun Life Financial (Ireland), Liberty Life Kenya (Kenya), MetLife (UAE), and MSG Global Solutions (Serbia and Montenegro) have received the Educational Achievement Award.
The demand for low- and semi-skilled migrant workers in the GCC private sector is projected to remain high in the short term, according to a paper released by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
GCC countries are forecast to finally achieve the goal of diversifying their economies away from oil over the next three decades, said a report from Fitch Solutions, part of the New York-based group that owns the credit rating agency of the same name.
GCC countries have traditionally been exposed to low levels of weather-related claims, although Cyclone Mekunu, which struck Oman in May 2018, Super Cyclone Gonu in 2007 and flooding in the UAE and Saudi Arabia serve as reminders that the region is not entirely free of Nat CATs, said A.M. Best in a report.
Premiums in Algeria increased by 8.1% to DZD39.4bn ($331.5m) in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2017. Private insurers maintained a 27% share of the total insurance market.
The heatwave which has hit Algeria since mid-June has caused farmers heavy losses, particularly in seasonal fruit crops. Grape, melon, peach and some citrus fruit, such as lemon, are the hardest hit by the high temperatures.
The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has signed an agreement with the Bahrain Insurance Association (BIA) to develop real estate insurance bonds.
The Insurance Federation of Egypt (IFE) has announced that a committee has been formed under its supervision with the aim of spreading microinsurance in the Egyptian market.
Total contributions to private insurance funds amounted to EGP7.6bn ($427.6m) last year compared to EGP7.4bn in 2016, an increase of 2.7%, said media reports.
New US sanctions are likely to prevent the use of a Lloyd’s of London IT platform for any Iran insurance, adding to difficulties for European insurers providing cover for the country, reported Reuters.
The Central Insurance of Iran (CII), the industry’s regulator and one of its few reinsurers, has disclosed the latest risk retention and inward reinsurance capacity allowed for insurers.
The combined profits of 21 insurers operating in the local market soared by 332.1% in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, according to a study by Sanabel Al Khair Financial Investment Company.
The Jordanian government plans to implement a new strategy to unify health insurance funds to prevent duplication, cut financial waste and reduce costs, said media reports.
Kuwait has activated a law that allows motorists to settle minor traffic accidents at police stations, cutting down on the amount of time needed to resolve such issues, the Interior Ministry has said.
Ahlia National Insurance Co (ANI) has received a licence to operate as a general insurer in Kuwait and is keen on expanding regionally in three years, said Mr Wa’el Saleh Alkhatib, the company’s vice chairman and CEO.
Lebanon is unlikely to achieve universal health coverage for its uninsured population for several more decades, said media reports citing caretaker health minister Ghassan Hasbani.
The exposure of insurers in Morocco to the banking sector is seen as significant with the insurance sector more dependent on the banking industry than the converse.
Insured losses from Cyclone Mekunu, which hit Oman in May 2018, have reached OMR108m ($280.9m), according to new data from the Capital Market Authority (CMA).
Oman’s plan for a compulsory health insurance scheme for private sector employees is a positive move aimed at boosting the non-life sector, which has a relatively low penetration rate in the GCC region, according to a Dubai-based financial analyst.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has warned that insurance cover would be nullified if drivers are caught trying to cross flooded wadis.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has mediated an agreement between the Palestinian Insurance Federation (PIF) and the Federation of Private Hospitals to resolve outstanding issues between the two parties.
Tunisia’s General Insurance Committee (CGA) is working on a new Insurance Code to be adopted likely this year. The objective of the overhaul of the legislative framework governing the insurance sector is to adapt it to international standards and enhance the strength of the market.
Around 90% of motorcycles in Tunisia are not insured and 19% of road accident victims are bikers, according to figures from the Tunisian Federation of Insurance Companies (FTUSA).
The insurance sector in Turkey generated total premiums of TRY27.9bn ($5bn) in the first half of this year, an increase of 20.5% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, according to data released by the Turkish Insurance Association (TSB). After taking into account inflation, real growth in the sector was 4.4%.
The authorities have gazetted a regulation that among other provisions makes it mandatory for freight forwarders and other logistics companies to purchase carrier liability insurance.
Global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman has announced that it is expanding to Istanbul amidst growing demand for the company’s consulting services in the region.
The UAE Insurance Authority (IA) is planning to introduce two compulsory insurance lines: medical malpractice insurance for doctors and decennial liability insurance for contractors and engineers.
Abuse of health services cost 10-15% of total collected premiums, according to insurance industry players.
The UAE Insurance Authority is requiring all insurers to meet five conditions for marketing insurance policies through banks before they are allowed to carry out bancassurance.
Average gross premiums for the top-five insured car brands in the UAE declined by an average of AED169 ($46) or 8% in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, according to a study from comparison site InsuranceMarket.ae and the classifieds platform dubizzle.
Several listed companies, including insurers, have a big exposure to the struggling Abraaj Group, the private equity company undergoing a court-supervised restructuring amid allegations of mismanagement of investors’ funds. The firm has denied the allegations against it.
Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) has posted a net profit of AED150.5m ($41m) for the first half of 2018, up 17.1% compared to the same period last year.
Coverage for a replacement car was the most popular car insurance add-on sold in the UAE during the second quarter of the year, according to a report released by comparison site yallacompare.
The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the Dubai Police General HQ said the trial run of the Traffic Incidents Management Scheme would be applied to a 70km sector of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road for one year starting from 16 September 2018.
Global
The International Insurance Society (IIS) will open two regional offices in 4Q18 – one in Singapore to expand the organisation’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and the other in London to focus on the EMEA region and support the society’s role as secretariat of the Insurance Development Forum, said IIS president & CEO Mike Morrissey at the Global Insurance Forum (GIF) in Berlin in July.
Insurers, industry bodies and brokers, together with other organisations across the insurance sector, have joined forces to launch a new industry-wide pledge, designed to drive more inclusive workplaces.
Global economic losses from natural disasters for 1H18 were estimated at $45bn – 64% lower than the 10-year average of $124bn, according to Aon’s ‘Global Catastrophe Recap: First Half of 2018’ report.
Qatar Reinsurance Company has ceased operations from its branch office in Singapore with effect from 20 July 2018. The company said in a press statement that it would work closely with its Singapore-based staff, its clients and broking partners and regulators to ensure the orderly administration of existing business written from the branch. This decision does not affect Qatar Re’s sister company Antares Asia, which continues to participate on the Lloyd’s Asia Platform. The company established its presence in Southeast Asia in 2015 when it opened its representative office in Singapore.
Asia Insurance Review is partnering with Korea Life Insurance Association to bring this IR4 insurance conference – to be held on 16 and 17 October 2018 – to the world with the theme: ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution – Blurring the Boundaries: Survival still for the fittest’.
Takaful
The 11th International Takaful Awards, held in conjunction with the International Takaful Summit in London, celebrated industry players for their outstanding achievement and innovation in the global takaful and retakaful sector. And for the fourth time, A.M. Best won the Best Rating Agency award.
The net income of listed companies in the GCC Islamic insurance (takaful and Islamic cooperative tawuni) sector nearly halved in 2017 to $375m, from $674m in 2016, according to S&P.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) plans to publish new regulations governing Islamic insurance before the end of this year. They will provide for the licensing and supervision of takaful in order to encourage international investment in the sector.
The government is studying the possibility of introducing health takaful coverage for low- and middle-income Malaysians, said Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) issued its eighth working paper titled ‘Issues arising from changes in takaful capital requirements’. It is the first dedicated IFSB working paper on the takaful sector.
Takaful could take some time to be introduced in the Philippines given the regulatory challenges, Insurance Commissioner Dennis B Funa said in a report by the Inquirer.
The Saudi Ministry of Health announced that it has cancelled contracts with the kingdom’s largest insurance providers – Bupa Arabia and Tawuniya.
Insurers are grappling with providing medical coverage to applicants who have crossed the age of 70, with some reportedly insisting on difficult conditions in the insurance policy so as to avoid covering them.
AXA Liabilities Managers (AXA LM), a unit of AXA Group, has acquired a majority stake in Emirates Re, once the largest independent international Islamic reinsurer handling retakaful business.