It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
15 leadership insights
ADGM: Insurance growth requires dialogue on potential developments
ADNIC: Continued evolution of general insurance
Badri: Love, actuary
BSA: Regulatory and legal frameworks in flux
Chedid Re: Insurers likely to ditch legacy systems for the cloud
CII: Global qualifications vital as regulations increase
Cigna: Future-proofing the GCC's health insurance sector
ESKADENIA: Pandemic both boon and bane for InsurTech
HDFC: Balance life between prudence and aggression
Lloyd's: Pandemic offers insurers an opportunity to build back better
Marsh: Digital adoption crucial for reach and efficiency
Trust Re: Achieving reinsurance growth in the region
Watania: Social media and digital tools are a game changer for takaful
Women's World Banking: Insurance growth may lie with low-income women
Zurich: Responsiveness and digitalisation to grow life
Congratulatory messages
Congratulations MEIR
General
MENA insurance industry shrugs off pandemic woes for positive growth
Turkey market grew in 2020 despite pandemic
Life & health
Structuring UAE health plans for employee satisfaction
Managing employee benefits for remote workers
AI and health insurance
Egypt
Biggest-ever insurance legislation changes
Positive economic growth spills over into insurance
Construction builds up non-life growth
Growth through health
Opportunities abound amid shifting market dynamics
Reinsurance: The missing link
InsurTechs focus on SMEs and uninsured
Takaful recovers strongly
Malaysia's takaful landscape
View from India
Simplifying the claims process
The time is now for actuaries in MENA
MENA
MENA: Sharm-FAIR conference to tackle the post-pandemic era
Algeria: Biggest agricultural insurer posts net profit of $13m in 2020
Bahrain: gig Bahrain launches revamped mobile application and website
Egypt: Work on the first actuarial life tables to start in early Sep
Kuwait: DHAMAN appoints Markaz to manage auction of strategic investor shares
Lebanon: Insurers pay out less than 10% of claims 12 months after Beirut Port blast
Morocco: Bancassurance channel grows marginally, increases market contribution in 2020
Oman: Calls renewed for Nat CAT insurance pool
Qatar: Qatar Insurance Group in the black for 1H2021
Turkey: Gallagher takes majority share in Istanbul-based specialty broker
UAE: Auto claims jump by nearly 45% in recent months
Global
Global: Improved results for major European reinsurers in 1H
UK: Government launches insurance scheme to support the events industry
US: 30% rise in frequency of large wildfires since the 2000s
Gallagher to take over WTW's treaty reinsurance brokerage operations
Takaful
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Re profit up 89% in 1H
GCC: Profitability momentum for takaful operators in doubt
UAE: Watania posts positive 1H2021 financial results
UAE: SALAMA reports net profit of over $10m for 1H2021
Cyber criminals target remote workers, critical infrastructure and corner stores
UK: Deteriorating mental health and cyber security are top people risks
US: Agriculture insurance claims surge due to climate change
Millions more at risk of flooding
Crop insurance and unintended consequences
Coal industry being hauled over the coals
The cost of phishing attacks triples between 2018 to 2021
Survey examines effect of pandemic on commercial insurance
Product Bites
People on the move
ACTUARIAL
MARKET PROFILE - Egypt
Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority is working at breakneck speed to strenghten insurance regulation for a nation on the cusp of substantial growth. We spoke to Dr Mohammed Omran to find out about tech, compliance, ESG and much more.
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INSURANCE - Life & health
The COVID-19 pandemic has left an irrevocable impression in how employees view mental and physical health. Now, many workers expect employers to take more responsibility for their health. Aetna International’s Ms Catherine Darroue addresses...
INSURANCE - General
When envisaging where the Turkish insurance market will be in five years, it is important to consider both the environment in Turkey and broader macroeconomic trends with which its fortunes are inextricably entwined, says BMS Turkey’s Mr Kerim...
Depending on age, 15 years might seem like a long time – or it might seem like the very recent past.
Generally speaking, the insurance sector in the MENA region has been ‘developing’ for a long time and many would question whether it will ever fulfil its potential. Changing market and social-economic dynamics across the region present...
Customers’ evolving expectations will continue to stimulate innovations in products, pricing and end-to-end delivery in the non-life insurance sector, says ADNIC’s Mr Jugal Madaan.
The MENA insurance industry has traditionally been quite profitable although most insurers bemoaned price competition even during periods when the average combined ratio hovered between 90% to 95%. Such performance would have been considered...
While COVID-19 has understandably had a significant impact on almost all businesses, the MENA insurance industry has proven resilient last year. In 2021, economic disruption from the pandemic will continue to be a risk for insurers, but there are...
Egypt’s insurance sector expanded in 2020, buoyed by the nation’s economic growth. The Insurance Federation of Egypt helped with initiatives to increase public awareness, improve market performance and support financial inclusion, says...
Massive infrastructure projects to build a new administrative capital and other facilities have contributed to increased total non-life premiums. The insurance market was buoyed further by the country’s positive growth in 2020.
Malaysia’s takaful segment showed resilience by coming back strongly in the first half of this year, recovering from the COVID-19 woes that held back growth during the same period last year.
The development of Malaysia’s takaful market has featured in the government’s plans and, as a result, the growth of the market and the rise in adoption of Islamic finance products over the last decade have been pronounced. However, this...
The insurance industry in India, despite incurring high incurred claims ratios year after year, does not seem to have gained the trust of consumers. Middle East Insurance Review spoke with Insurance Brokers Association of India’s Mr Sumit...
The actuarial profession has become more prominent within the local economies in the MENA region and will play a significant role in the future with evolving insurance regulations. We spoke to Nitaq’s Mr Samih Geha about the opportunities and...
In coordination and cooperation with the Afro-Asian Insurance and Reinsurance Federation (FAIR) and under the patronage of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the Insurance Federation of Egypt (IFE) and FAIR are organising the 3rd annual Sharm...
The National Agricultural Mutual Fund (CNMA) has posted a net profit of DZD1.8bn ($13.3m) for 2020, 50% higher than for 2019.
Bahrain Kuwait Insurance (gig Bahrain) has launched its revamped mobile application gig-GO and its website.
The share of cyber attack insurance claims surged by 50% in the first half of 2021 as compared to the first half of 2020 according to a report by US cyber insurer Coalition.
The rapid changes brought about in the working conditions of employees due to the pandemic have exposed gaps in the ability of organisations to respond to risks associated with their workforces.
Global warming has contributed substantially to rising crop insurance losses in the US according to a new research study by a team of climate scientists from Stanford University.