The best of the industry was showcased at the 2nd Middle East Insurance Industry Awards (MIIA), which drew many entries across the region eager to demonstrate what they are doing to stay at the top of the game.
MetLife was the winner of the Life Insurance Company of the Year award this year, while AXA Insurance (Gulf) took double honours by winning in both the General Insurance Company and Health Insurance Company of the Year categories.
The Family Takaful of the Year award went to SALAMA Family Takaful, while the General Takaful of the Year accolade went to Al Madina Takaful.
RGA Reinsurance Company Middle East was recognised as the Reinsurance Company of the Year, while Hannover ReTakaful clinched the Retakaful Company of the Year award. Chedid Re and Nexus Insurance Brokers were named Reinsurance Broker of the Year and Broker of the Year, respectively. National Health Insurance Co – Daman was the winner of the Innovation of the Year category.
Two new categories for 2015 were Corporate Risk Manager of the Year and TPA of the Year, which went to Mr Bob Sehmi of Dana Gas and GlobeMed Group, respectively. In other categories, Holman Fenwick Willan was recognised as the Law Firm of the Year, Milliman Middle East won the Service Provider of the Year award and the Arab Insurance Institute received the Educational & Training Initiative of the Year award. Mr Abdul Khaliq R Khalil, Secretary General of the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF), received the Lifetime Achievement award for his contributions to the industry.
“This second edition of the MIIA was even more heartening than the first, as we saw many bold and brave entries showing what they were doing in the market, not just to stay relevant but sometimes to actually lead the buyers and create more demand,” said Mr Sivam Subramaniam, Editor-in-Chief of Middle East Insurance Review, organiser of the Awards. “There are stars in the Middle East and the region is not short of innovation and excitement.”
This year’s Awards was supported by the DIFC and GAIF. The judging process and results were audited by independent auditor EY, while the judging panel comprised 26 domestic, regional and international leaders in the insurance industry. The results were announced at a gala dinner on 17 November in conjunction with the Dubai Rendezvous.
The Judging Panel comprised:
MENA
• Abdul Khaliq R Khalil, Secretary General, General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF)
• Dr Adel Mounir, Secretary General, Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR)
• Dr Bassel Hindawi, Chairman/ CEO, DIFC Insurance Association
• Fareed Lutfi, Secretary General, Emirates Insurance Association
• Akshay Randeva, Director, Strategy & Business Intelligence, Qatar Financial Centre Authority
• Christian Vogel, CEO, Gulf Reinsurance
• Fahad Al-Hesni, CEO, Saudi Reinsurance Company
• Fateh Bekdache, General Manager, AROPE Insurance s.a.l.
• Hammam M Badr, Chairman & Managing Director, ISKAN Insurance Co
• Mahomed Akoob, Managing Director, Hannover ReTakaful
• Mark Cooper, General Representative Middle East, Lloyd’s of London
• Mohamed El Dishish, CEO, Emirates Retakaful
• Dr Michael Bitzer, CEO, National Health Insurance Company – Daman
• Michael Jensen, Managing Director, MENA, AIG Property Casualty
• Robin Kevin Ali, Consultant, Health Funding Department, Dubai Health Authority
• Ronald Chidiac, General Manager, Arab Reinsurance Company
• Steve Dixon, Senior Advisor, MENA, ACE Overseas General
• Walid Genadry, Former Head, Insurance Control Commission, Ministry of Economy and Trade, Lebanon
• Yassir Albaharna, CEO, Arab Insurance Group
• Younis Jamal Al Sayed, Chief Executive, Takaful International Co.
International
• Geoff Riddell, Adviser of Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Zurich
• Dr Kai-Uwe Schanz, External Advisor, The Geneva Association
• Michael J Morrissey, President & CEO, International Insurance Society
• Patrick Liedtke, Managing Director & Head of Financial Institutions Group – EMEA, BlackRock
• Dr Peter F Hugger, CEO, Echo Reinsurance
• Dr Roger Sellek, CEO, A.M. Best – EMEA & Asia Pacific.
The 2nd MIIA was sponsored by AIG, Arig, Chedid Re, Echo Re, Emirates Retakaful, Hannover ReTakaful, NEXtCARE, RGA, THEJAS Consulting, Trust Re and Zurich.