Orient has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 1982 with consistent underwriting and working results and became the secondlargest insurance company in an extremely competitive UAE market by 2015.

The success of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM)-listed company is attributed to judicious underwriting, sound risk selection, support of strong reinsurers, efficient claims and prudent expense management, with a cautious investment policy and exemplary customer service.

Premiums registered an impressive growth of nearly 15% from AED2.3 billion (US$630 million) in 2015 to AED2.7 billion in 2016 with its profits reaching AED314 million. Its paid-capital of AED5 million rose to AED500 million in 2015, with equity hitting AED2.6 billion.

Orient has secured credit ratings of “A Excellent” from A.M. Best and “A” from S&P and accredited with ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification. It has also won many awards, including the General Insurance Company of the Year at the Middle East Insurance Industry Awards in 2016.

Orient, which adopts global practices tailored to the local market, is engaged in digital transformation using the best innovation in technology. All channels are supported by online systems for fulfilment and service.

Orient reported AED150 million collected premium in individual life and AED160 million GWP in group life in 2016, recording a growth of more than 30% over the previous year. The growth of the individual life portfolio has been substantial since its start in 2013.

Orient’s life department drives its business through various distribution channels: bancassurance tie-ups with all major banks in the UAE; direct sales force of 200 sales professionals; support of major brokers; and its own call centre.

Its life products include innovative guaranteed products with a transparency of guaranteed bonus, guaranteed cash value and other benefits in case of maturity or death.

The insurer also offers innovative riders like family income benefits, waiver of premium, guaranteed investment benefits, passive war risk cover, critical illness cover, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability cover, and terminal illness cover on very economical rates for the insuring community to have maximum coverage at low cost.

Orient’s market leadership is retained with frequent introduction of innovative products. Its latest offering – Orient Embryo Care – provides coverage for any complication to a child before he/she is born.

The company offers innovative market-linked products with clear transparency of charges, flexibility like partial withdrawal, loan against cash value, premium holiday, limited premium payment terms as low as three years and whole-life coverage. Orient’s terms are transparent without any hidden charges or conditions, in accordance with international standards.

Orient covers lives of more than 190 nationalities who work and live in the UAE, and continues to provide insurance cover to customers regardless of the country of relocation. In a relatively short period of time in life insurance, Orient has come to be known in the market for its best practices and products and services, comparable to the established life insurers in the country.

Strong underwriting capabilities supported by structured reinsurance programmes, sustained growth in both top and bottom lines, extensive distribution network, innovation in products and processes and retention of customer loyalty enabled Oman Insurance Company (OIC) to retain its top position in the UAE insurance market over the years.

Established in 1975, Oman Insurance Company is the numero uno insurer in the UAE and one of the key insurance providers in the Middle East. OIC has operations across the UAE as well as in Oman, Qatar and a subsidiary in Turkey. OIC provides a wide range of insurance solutions for individuals and enterprises in life, medical and general lines.

With a GWP of AED3.56 billion (US$969 million) in 2016, OIC is rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best and “A- Stable Outlook” by S&P. OIC has shown strong underwriting capabilities backed by structured reinsurance programmes, led by “A”-rated international facilities such as Swiss Re, XL Re and ACE Tempest Re. This allows the company to transfer risk, and improve solvency margins and capital management. Independent actuarial function helps OIC to improve pricing and reserving methodologies across all lines through improved internal reporting, leading to better insights on risk positions of all lines.

OIC provides a wide range of comprehensive insurance solutions for individuals and commercial clients with packaged products such as SME plans or tailor-made solutions for large corporate risks. OIC’s large corporate portfolio with a high retention rate is testimony to its impactful delivery.

The insurer’s wide range of capabilities and strong capacities allows it to take on the insurance of mega-projects such as the Dubai International Airport Expansion, DEWA Power and Desalination Plant, Palm Jumeirah and the Burj Khalifa.

On the innovative products front, OIC was awarded the project to provide insurance solutions to the UAE’s Road Traffic Authority for its pilotless aerial vehicle (AAV) aircraft capable of carrying passengers.

Key to its digital delivery was the development and launch of its eCommerce Platform that allows customers access to motor and DHA healthcare policies over their smartphones. The same was also promoted on social media so customers are aware of this new channel to get their motor policies. Another cutting edge launch was Assist Pal app with its geo-location feature that enables its motor insurance customers to easily reach out to the insurer for any emergency roadside assistance.

OIC’s strength is its capability to work with clients to adapt protection policies and tailor-make them to suit specific risk management requirements. Through innovative approaches, the insurer assists its corporate clients to adapt to the changing risk landscape and narrow any protection gap. For the SME sector, OIC has tailor-made a solution Business 360, which is a unique pre-underwritten insurance plan covering a host of typical risks facing the small units. An all-in-one comprehensive cover including property, liability, motor and health, Business 360 is supported by an online platform which allows on-the-spot quotation and binding.

OIC’s mission is to deliver superior insurance propositions that customers can recommend to their family and friends, owners can buy for their businesses, brokers can select for their clients, and shareholders can seek for long-term returns.

Oman Insurance Company’s (OIC) healthcare portfolio has grown consistently over the years to reach AED1.6 billion (US$440 million) in 2016, accounting for 44% of its overall portfolio.

The figures are impressive: more than 300,000 members; over two million claims processed every year; 24/7 access for pre-authorisation requests; and 65% satisfied customers based on their claims experience with OIC, according to responses from a medical reimbursement claims satisfaction survey conducted in March 2017. The direct billing network comprises over 800 healthcare providers and 750 pharmacies across all emirates. The unique service is that OIC gives its clients the option to choose networks and select limits and deductible levels, thus helping them optimise their plans for the best value.

The company is one of the nine Participating Insurers (PIs) licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to provide the mandated cover, the Essential Benefit Plan (EBP), to employees and personal staff under a lower salary band of AED4,000 gross salary. In addition to EBP, OIC offers a wide range of products, including Group Tailor Made (GTM) plans for staff and managers. All plans are compliant with the local regulatory authorities.

OIC redesigned its SME plans to bring together key insurance covers into a simple solution that complies with the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and DHA regulations to make them more competitive and affordable. The plans also offer the flexibility to select from multiple benefits to build a tailor-made cover for the employees.

In an endeavour to reach a wider audience and offer cover to the non-insured population in the UAE, OIC has also developed affordable and comprehensive plans, including a specially designed plan, “Thiqa top up”, for the local emirati population to give them additional protection.

In the digital sphere, OIC launched new digital services, besides the existing ones, to bring convenience to its medical customers and enhance their experience. In addition, the insurer also launched an online portal to enable customers to buy their DHA-approved medical plan from the convenience of their laptops and smartphones.

OIC is one of the first insurers to allow its members to present their Emirates ID instead of their Medical Insurance Card as proof of eligibility to use direct billing medical services.

Its online portal “OICare”, which allows members, employers and brokers to conveniently submit and track their reimbursement claims, gained a lot of traction over the last year. OIC’s online pre-approved system enables healthcare providers to submit pre-authorisation requests and receive approvals online to ensure faster and better handling of requests.

One of OIC’s core values is “Care” which aims to provide its services with compassion and treat people as individuals, not as numbers. Among the initiatives include the Pharmacy Benefit Management system that gives instant online medication approval for prescriptions up to AED2,000 while taking care of the member safety through various drug safety checks. More than 90% of new claims are paid within 14 days of submission and OIC ensures the clients are informed of the status of their claims via SMS, email and phone call.

The insurer also sends a questionnaire to its members once they go through the reimbursement claim process, to hear about their experience. The results help OIC to understand their expectations and improve service in order to better serve its members in the future.

With over two decades of success, NEXtCARE is the benchmark for Third- Party Administrators (TPAs) in the Middle East today. As a member of Allianz Worldwide Partners, the international leader in insurance and assistance services, NEXtCARE has captured a sizeable market share with innovative technology and excellent customer service.

NEXtCARE provides excellent, cost-effective and innovative healthcare solutions to maintain its leading position in the region. Its regional operational platform is manned by over 800 medically qualified staff from 34 nationalities and speaking 28 languages.

The company provides full regulatory support ensuring compliance with more than 160 regulatory mandates for all its payers and manages an electronic claims environment through a compliant proprietary system “TATSH” with multiple portal technologies for providers, payers and patients. With a robust system infrastructure of over three million links, automation is system-driven to ensure high efficiency and 99% accuracy rates. Its TATSH proprietary system delivers a cost-effective electronic solution, streamlining processes and ensuring competitiveness and profitability.

Growth has been impressive over the years. It has recorded a 15% y-o-y growth in business in 2016. The number of its employees reached more than 1,100 with 85% being medical professionals, and operate from 12 offices across the UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco and Tunisia, offering a network of more than 8,000 healthcare providers. NEXtCARE works with more than 120 payers, and serves more than four million lives and manages 8.5 million medical claims in volume with $1 billion claims in value and $1.2 billion in premiums.

In Saudi Arabia, NEXtCARE was selected to be part of a TPA collaborative team to handle more than 90,000 medical claims from the Saudi Ministry of Health valued at more than SAR6 billion (US$1.60 billion).

In order to combat fraud, waste and abuse, NEXtCARE deploys Insurance Procurement to administer a wide network of quality healthcare providers at optimal cost. Insurance Procurement reinforces efficiency and cost optimisation through the ongoing governance of the contractual relationship and negotiation with healthcare providers, utilising real-time dashboards, scorecards and close monitoring.

As part of its patient safety initiative, modern technology and managed care techniques are adopted for the adjudication of managed pharmacy benefits.

NEXtCARE believes that wellness and prevention programmes are the means to reducing claims, and hence costs. Efforts are made to help its members maintain good health through programmes designed to encourage preventive care and reduce the incidence and impact of lifestyle diseases. The focus is on raising awareness and on partnership with various governments across the region with the objective of promoting wellness and preventative schemes through innovative solutions, business intelligence and system integration.

Wellness and prevention is also at the heart of the TPA’s corporate culture as it promotes wellness externally as well as internally to its employees. The company undertakes regular CSR activities such as marathons and walkathons. Its employees also contribute to the well-being of the society by taking part in CSR initiatives such as raising funds for charity organisations.

Abu Dhabi National Takaful Co (ADNTC), established in November 2003, is progressively moving towards further growth and profitability, after showing a CAGR of 30% in revenue and 57% in profitability in the 2004-2016 period. In terms of its business model, ADNTC believes in diversification, service excellence and tailored products that meet customer needs by providing innovative solutions to build a healthy portfolio mix (2016: general takaful 64% and family takaful 36%), and growing against various traditional segments and in other segments that provide sustainability and high profitability in a fiercely competitive UAE market. This reflects ADNTC’s strategy and efforts to concentrate on maintaining underwriting discipline which helps to achieve sustainable growth and profitability.

Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ADNTC achieved an underwriting profit of AED37.6 million in 2016 against AED35.1 million in 2015, an increase of 6.9%. Its net profit rose 16.4% to AED48.4 million from AED41.5 million. Total equity grew 12.4% in 2016 over that in 2015. The healthy growth is continuing in 2017 as evidenced by the 10% increase in net profit to AED20.1 million for the period ended 31 March 2017 over the same period in 2016.

With increasing customer confidence, ADNTC retains a much stronger competitive position compared to other niche takaful operators. It more than doubled its gross takaful contributions from AED149.8 million in 2010 to AED320.8 million in 2016. The retention ratios across various lines of business, with the exception of motor business, are in the higher range of 90%.

In August 2016, A.M. Best upgraded ADNTC’s financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “a-”. The rating upgrades reflect ADNTC’s excellent riskadjusted capitalisation, consistently strong technical performance, improved balance of earnings between the policyholder and shareholder funds, enhanced enterprise risk management and niche market profile as one of the leading takaful operators. This is the highest rating assigned by A.M. Best to a takaful operator worldwide.

The company’s focused approach and effective execution of its strategy in all areas of operations has resulted in it becoming the leading takaful operator in the region, and a company recognised for its credibility and performance excellence among other established conventional insurers in the region.

ADNTC follows the best practice for treatment of qard hassan (benevolent loan) by taking 100% provision from net profit of the shareholders’ fund at the end of the financial year without affecting the equity or financial position during subsequent financial periods.

Furthermore, ADNTC ensures that its products and services are simple and easy to understand, its terms and conditions are transparent with no hidden restrictions, and its products can be distributed over-the-counter, thus offering customers the convenience of simple and quick enrolment.

With this simple philosophy and mindset, the takaful operator has acquired many new customers and has successfully managed to retain the existing customers. Over the years, ADNTC has built a combined base of over 140,000 individual and corporate customers. With increasing customer confidence, it attracted over 10,000 new customers in 2016 and over 3,500 new customers up till 1Q 2017.

The underwriting results, tailored products offerings, multi-distribution channels, prudent investment strategy and operational excellence have been instrumental in ADNTC being acknowledged as the takaful provider of choice.

Oman Insurance Company (OIC) has set the pace for growing its pool of insurance expertise and invested in its in-house learning and development hub, Oman Insurance Academy, to address talent acquisition and retention challenges.

Providing access to learning and development opportunities allow the employees to identify potential areas of career growth and develop a plan to shape it with the support of the company’s in-house learning and development tools. The programme is the first-of-its-kind in the UAE with much effort going into maintaining a high quality of delivery, seeking partnerships with internationally accredited institutes. Since its launch last year, the Academy has hosted more than 100 programmes. This is a firm testimony to OIC for positively enhancing the professionalism and educational standards of executives in the industry.

Access to in-house and company-sponsored courses enables employees to learn and earn qualifications even as they work. They are supported with special classes by knowledgeable coaches to train and guide them, addressing and assisting their learning at every turn. Some of the courses sponsored by the company for all full time employees are CII (UK) and LOMA (USA).

OIC runs in-house training courses in its Dubai and Muscat offices in cooperation with the CII’s Middle East branch RISC Institute in English, as well as Arabic up to Certificate level and also sponsors independent CII studies up to Advanced Diploma level.

The company started the LOMA journey in 2016 through the certification of some employees. This year, LOMA courses will be run in-house to a wider group of life insurance professionals.

Addressing market trends and challenges, “Product of the Month Workshops” are organised as an open forum for sharing insights on local or regional events that impact a specific product. These sessions are conducted by the company’s internal Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) – colleagues who are at the forefront of the insurance field in the region, regularly consulted by the media for their expert opinion on current trends and future plans.

Understanding the importance of developing its host of expertise, OIC also looks to strengthen its leadership, while also shaping its future leaders through various programmes. The company ran the internationally valued “7 Habits of Highly Efficient People” based on Stephen Covey’s bestselling book to its Hi-Po population, followed by the signature edition of the same programme to more senior members.

As a next step in following this high profile programme, OIC will host Mr Stephen Covey in the Executive Committee’s offsite, where he will introduce his award winning concept “Speed of Trust” to the company’s senior leadership team.

To embrace technology, an e-learning platform has been set up, accessible to all employees through PCs and tablets, allowing them to learn at any time, in any location.

To enhance this further a “learning on your palm” mobile app initiative is at the final stages of being implemented.

As a modern international health insurance provider, Now Health International (NHI) embraces technology, using it in every possible way to make the customer experience exceptional.

In this era of digital innovation, customers expect the most convenient, fast and functional service, and Now Health has responded to this expectation by developing two innovative digital tools – a secure online portfolio and a smartphone app – for its members to easily utilise their international health insurance plan anywhere in the world at anytime.

Digital tools are aplenty in the healthcare insurance market, but what differentiates Now Health’s tools from the rest is that they have been specifically developed to align with its core business proposition – to provide a clear, innovative and accessible approach to international private medical insurance.

The tools have been developed to work for all its customers globally, and the app is available for both iPhone and Android to make it more accessible.

The digital tools are designed to be easy to use while also supporting it to deliver fast and accurate service, including processing claims within five working days. Following a major upgrade at the start of 2017, members can now use the secure online portfolio to submit and track claims online.

The smartphone app is upgraded to make it even easier for members to submit claims online and search for their nearest medical provider.

Gone are the days when most international health insurance claims were paperbased. Still, a majority of health insurers operating in the Middle East only facilitate very basic online claims submissions, with customers simply emailing a scan of a hardcopy claims form.

Now Health is continuing to innovate to digitise the claims experience by enabling the submission and tracking of claims on both the smartphone app and the secure online portfolio.

The next phase in 2017 will involve realigning the smartphone app with its updated claims processes, and Now Health is looking at new functions to improve customer engagement such as a digital membership card.

New features in the online portfolio are added for members to submit claims online with just a few simple clicks. The “Find a Medical Provider Tool” is upgraded to make it easier for members to book appointments and get directions to the nearest specialist. This feature is available through the secure online portfolio, website and smartphone app, for customers to access the best care when they need it most.

A drop down menu in the smartphone app makes it easier for customers to find a medical provider from the comprehensive or restricted networks. The app comes with functionality to map the closest health professionals and get directions and contact details.

During the app upgrade in 2016, Now Health faced a critical challenge as its database provider (Parse) closed down. It therefore had to completely rebuild the entire database using its own CMS, embracing this setback as a unique opportunity to align its smartphone app and email/ web server, to run from the same data source, thus providing improved benefits in the long term.

Milliman qualifies as “the service provider” of choice for the Middle East’s insurance industry in its true sense as it works with three of the six financial regulators in the region, health and education ministries of several countries as well as a health regulator.

Through these collaborations, Milliman facilitates the adoption of best practices in the region and, in particular, strengthening of technical skill sets within the industry. Milliman Middle East has gone from strength to strength as an advisory firm par excellence since winning the “Service Provider of the Year” award at the Middle East Insurance Industry Awards in 2016 and continues to demonstrate leadership, advisory excellence and professionalism.

The advisory firm, which has volunteered to support insurance associations in the region in enhancing technical activities, including research work, has taken the first major step with Big Data and introduced telematics and predictive analytics in the region.

It has partnered with an insurance association to develop the first-ever mortality study in the Middle East region and is working with an insurance association and health regulators to develop health cost benchmarks in the UAE.

In the health sector, Milliman has developed clinical tools for fraud detection, analysing chronic condition hierarchical tools, as well as advanced risk adjustment tools.

A major service has been in the sphere of education where the consultancy is passionate about educating the insurance industry at large in order to raise the bar of quality service provision in the region. It provides on-the-job training to actuarial interns and client staff on a voluntary basis apart from providing on-site training to insurance companies and professionals through its work with regulators in the region. The company’s Middle East practice continues to grow across each line of business – life, health, casualty, employee benefit and ERM.

Milliman’s greatest strength is its unique structure of offering multi-practice consultancy services (life, health, casualty, pensions, risk management), all out of one practice to serve the needs of the regional insurance industry which often requires multi-disciplinary advice. Within all these lines of service, Milliman is renowned for its ability to implement global actuarial standards in a manner suitable to the regional and local requirements without compromising on quality and standards.

It continues to be the leading actuarial firm in the region with the highest number of actuaries specialised in each discipline, in line with global best practices. Staff numbers have increased and the company continues to recruit across all lines of business.

The advisory firm is able to draw on its global expertise, experience and resource to ensure that its Middle East clients are always getting the latest actuarial expertise that meet global standards. For example, Milliman is working on a pilot capitation model in the region in collaboration with capitation modelling experts from the UK and the US.

Mr Abu Alhaija’a, a well-known risk manager in the insurance circle in the region, has proven his mettle by demonstrating exemplary expertise in building successful risk cultures within organisations by creating and implementing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) frameworks.

Currently Head of ERM at Arab Orient Insurance Company | gig – Amman, Mr Abu Alhaija’a was previously the Regional Risk Manager at Trust International Insurance Group till August 2016. During his tenure, he created and implemented ERM frameworks in five main subsidiaries in Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Lebanon.

He established and implemented an ERM programme according to the ISO 31000 standard, and identified and developed group risk profiles for more than 500 risks by involving 110 employees chosen from various departments.

His noteworthy contributions in the field of risk assessment and mitigation include the definition and identification of 250 risks, conducting risk awareness sessions for employees, and enhancing the implementation of corporate governance across the company by preparing a set of policies, guidelines and charters.

He developed a Business Continuity & Crisis Management Plan assuming two disruption scenarios – data centre failure and main building failure – and formed a crisis management team in order to manage the company in case of crisis.

Mr Abu Alhaija’a was instrumental in setting up the Crisis Management Communication Team and developing a Strategic Early Warning System (SEWS) to support decision making across the companies and allow them to react strategically ahead of time. By detecting weak signals, which can be perceived as important “discontinuities” in an organisational environment, SEWS allows organisations to manage crisis.

Mr Abu Alhaija’a has gained various certifications that improved his skills in the field. These include the International Certificate in Risk Management (CIRM) from the Institute of Risk Management in London, and a certificate in Risk Management in Financial Services (SIRM). He is also pursuing an International Diploma in Risk Management (MIRM).

He co-founded a volunteer group, the IRM Regional Group of Jordan & Palestine, which aims to encourage discussion on the risk profession and elevate its position regionally. He also conducted research on “ERM in Arab Insurance Companies – Practices & Challenges”, which covered more than 100 companies from 18 Arab countries.

Mr Abu Alhaija’a also worked at developing a business continuity and crisis management plan as part of the risk management framework in conformity with ISO 22301 standards, which helped to boost the organisation’s resilience. This process involved stress testing IT infrastructure and taking into consideration political instability in the region.

For the Yemen office, implementation of the plans resulted in actual savings and positive impact on cash flow and expense management. He was instrumental in establishing a risk culture across various departments and subsidiaries, and conducted risk awareness sessions for more than 160 employees across the group. Partnering third-party entities, he organised specific training sessions on civil defence, first aid, firefighting and evacuation. He also helped form committees for business continuity, crisis management and health and safety, building the awareness of risk management in general.

Clyde & Co’s insurance and reinsurance practice continues to be recognised as the market leader in the region both in scale and expertise.

By harnessing its deep sector knowledge, the law firm has developed a substantial and globally successful practice renowned for its strategic approach and resolute commercial focus. It has established practices across 10 classes of business, giving clients access to a specialist partner and supported by a dedicated team of associates.

The firms’s Middle East insurance team comprises six experienced partners, supported by three legal directors and more than 20 associates. The team is spread across its offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE and covers the entire GCC and greater Middle East region.

Being the largest insurance practice in the region and commanding remarkable understanding of legal, commercial and regulatory issues in the sector, the firm continues to be engaged by the market to advise on industry issues, including representing registered life insurers in the UAE in working with the Insurance Authority on a major overhaul of life insurance laws.

The firm is also advising a GCC government on international benchmarking and revisions to its insurance regulatory framework.

The industry has greatly benefited from its value-added services that include inhouse translation, comprehensive library and know-how, qualified Arabic lawyers and legal researchers, government liaison representatives, and a dedicated company secretarial team.

In the field of training and education, the firm provides relevant updates on the Middle East, including a weekly GCC legal update service for health insurance clients.

In addition, Clyde & Co regularly hosts seminars and training programmes, including training sessions across 10 separate lines of business. Recent events include: a bespoke training programme for loss adjusters, surveyors and forensic experts operating in the MENA region held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; targeted Lloyd’s Lecture series held at Lloyd’s DIFC; tailored medical malpractice insurance training for regional insurers; and a programme of tailored case studies for the DIFC Insurance Association focusing on Financial Lines, Energy, and High-Rise Building Fires.

Clyde & Co is committed to “modernisation” of its practice and procedures in line with digital advancements and future client demands. It has formed a number of “project groups” to drive initiatives around improved search engine optimisation (SEO), client portals, bespoke claims reporting software, and flexible working practices to ensure that its lawyers are on the ground when and where needed.

As a truly global firm, it is increasing the use of webinars to provide clients with information at a place and time convenient to them. Its most recent global webinar took place in May 2017 and featured senior representatives from Swiss Re and Willis Towers Watson speaking about the Insurance Development Forum (IDF), which Clyde & Co has been involved with since its inception, and focuses on global resilience, parametric insurance and similar topics.

With a proactive CSR programme, Clyde & Co partners with clients and industry groups to provide pro bono legal advice to organisations. The firm also actively assists the DIFC Insurance Association (DIFCIA) to produce and co-ordinate its first-ever pro bono and CSR programme.

With over 27 years of experience, Nexus operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore to offer a professional and high level of service to its clients. It is the largest retail insurance broker in the GCC and one of the largest advisory firms in Singapore, offering a complete range of insurance and savings products to both corporate and individual clients.

The company was established in 2006 by Mr Mahmoud Nodjoumi, Founder and Chairman, through a management buyout of the distribution arm of Zurich International Life in the Middle East, which had been established in the region since 1989.

The brokerage, which works closely with providers to identify how the products can offer more value to clients, is credited with sound financial management with a proven track record of business growth and retention. The year 2016 was particularly challenging with a number of external forces creating market instability. Despite this, Nexus did not cut infrastructure or change its growth strategy. The company has been making great strides in the general lines of business (corporate 28.97% growth, medical 37.22% growth, personal lines 28.28% growth) and employee benefits 14.99% growth.

Embracing technology to offer value-added service, Nexus created the Nexus Client Portal which provided secure online access to both clients and consultants. It also launched the SME Package Solution, and all its advisers have been kitted with a digital rater which allows them to generate real-time quotes and sales in one meeting.

The strength of Nexus is the professional quality of its staff and consultants. This was achieved by investing heavily in the training and professional development of its employees. Following three weeks of residential training, consultants are required to achieve the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) award in Financial Planning within 18 months in their role followed by the Award in Investment Planning and the Award in General Insurance. All Nexus consultants in Qatar are CII Level Four qualified as required by the Qatar Financial Authority. There was a total number of 616 CII passes in December 2016, an increase of 73 CII passes compared to six months earlier.

Nexus has its own Compliance Department, thus adding another level of security and professionalism to its process. As part of its commitment to clients, each individual case is vetted to ensure conformity with compulsory fact-finding process and best practice.

What differentiates Nexus from other brokers is its initiative to educate clients to keep them abreast of the latest protection products, investment avenues and legal developments.

Initiatives started by Nexus as a response to its clients’ needs include client seminars that are held on a regular basis covering topics such as Protection, Education Planning, Investment and Succession Planning. The Succession Planning seminars titled “Exit Planning” have been designed for its business-owning GCC clients to address the issues that they will face when the time comes to exit their business. These seminars help strengthen relationships with clients and are a great opportunity to educate and inform them about other product lines that would be relevant and appropriate for them.

Since its inception in 1998, Chedid Re’s aim has been to become a regional reinsurance broking power house that acts as a trusted partner in all of its dealings with clients. Today, it is one of the top 20 reinsurance brokers in the world, with business emanating from more than 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

During this period of exceptional growth, Chedid Re has forged fruitful partnerships with some of the most trusted reinsurance groups in the world. It has an outstanding track record as an appointed Lloyd’s broker since 2015. Its registration as a Lloyd’s broker has proven that the company is a trusted international partner and a major regional player in the reinsurance industry with sustained expansion that results in full international exposure, while demonstrating that its business activity and goals are perfectly aligned within Lloyd’s vision and growth strategy.

Chedid Re is also managing multiple underwriting agencies with a longstanding successful track record as an approved Lloyd’s coverholder, authorised by various syndicates at Lloyd’s and other regional and international reinsurers to underwrite risks, enter into contracts of reinsurance and issue documentation on their behalf.

Capitalising on such vast resources, experience and relationships, the company has successfully managed to produce above-average returns for its shareholders and deliver outstanding results to clients, which include more than 400 top insurance companies in the world.

The company has accomplished this by anticipating the growing needs of the insurance markets, remaining customer-focused, and fostering fair challenging competition, while meeting the ever-evolving requirements and exceeding the expectations of its clients and stakeholders.

After nearly 20 years in the insurance and reinsurance industry, Chedid Re is committed more than ever to continue delivering excellence and reaching new heights with its services, whilst always reflecting its values that continue to significantly contribute to enhancing the image of the industry among all stakeholders.

In collaboration with multiple capacity providers, and fuelled by its ongoing market research and exposure, Chedid Re has successfully created a range of innovative bespoke solutions and services, including cutting-edge tools, exceptional products, and leading market trends.

The brokerage adds value to its customers’ experience through unique features that include specialised placement departments that help align its expertise with clients’ placement requirements.

When it comes to risk management, Chedid Re ensures that its clients are covered to the maximum possible extent based on their needs and in accordance with terms and conditions. The brokerage continues to encourage them to increase their limits and technical covers both horizontally and vertically.

What is unique about Chedid Re is that it takes the extra step in protecting itself and its clients by ensuring protection against any error through Professional Indemnity and Director and Officers liability covers. It fosters a challenging yet competitive environment and abides by a code of ethics that respects customers and companies within the industry.

Hannover ReTakaful, a fully owned subsidiary of the Hannover Re Group, the world’s third-largest reinsurer by premium volume, has over the years continued to show its unwavering commitment to the development and sustainability of the takaful and retakaful industry in the region.

Having shown steady and significant growth year after year since its establishment, the company has grown to be the largest independently capitalised retakaful operator in the region. Realising the potential of Islamic business, Hannover Re was the first major reinsurance group to devote itself to this emerging market. It established Hannover ReTakaful in 2006 with an authorised capital of US$135 million and fully paid-up capital of $54 million.

For the year 2016, GWP was BHD60 million ($159 million). In May 2016, S&P had affirmed the ratings on Hannover ReTakaful at A+ with stable outlook.

The company’s commitment to the industry is evidenced in the fact that it was established as a fully capitalised legal entity at a time when Islamic window operations were common. The company conducts all facets of its business strictly in line with Shariah principles as advised by its Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB). In addition, the company has appointed an independent Shariah Auditor. All the company’s investments are in Shariahcompliant products.

Hannover ReTakaful services over 200 partners globally from Bahrain. The company has contribution volumes in excess of $200 million and an asset base of $392 million.

Product innovation, process optimisation and acceleration of business growth are all achieved keeping in mind the needs of the clients. Its client list includes blue-chip Middle East insurance businesses such as Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Gulf Insurance Group, Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company, Misr Insurance and many other distinguished insurers from across the region.

The company uses its leading position to serve as a model of transparent, accountable and ethical operations for the entire industry. By developing products that work to meet all budgets and needs, the company is helping the industry position itself as flexible and caring.

It seeks to lead by example, serving as a model of underwriting discipline for the rest of the market, which often falls prey to short-sighted hyper-competition.

Hannover ReTakaful upholds the highest standards of underwriting discipline, carefully avoiding adverse selection. The company employs a team of highly experienced professional underwriters who have access to the most advanced and state-of-the-art underwriting tools and technological solutions.

Being present locally, the Bahrain Branch realises and understands challenges that the market faces in the Middle East. Knowledge of local and international market helps the company understand various implications and it is able to take pre-emptive measures proactively to provide reinsurance solutions which meet the changing market dynamics.

A key differentiator which makes a reinsurance firm stand out from the rest in the insurance industry is its claims settlement process. Hannover ReTakaful has a highly streamlined claims-settlement process, which strives to settle claims on time, maximise operating efficiency, while minimising costs.

The company constantly strives towards performance excellence in terms of corporate governance and is a strong proponent of professionalism in the industry.

Zurich, which launched its operations in the DIFC through a reinsurance licence in 2009, has been strengthening its reinsurance model in the region and aspires to be the leading corporate insurer and preferred risk partner.

Zurich’s business model, focusing on facultative reinsurance solutions, enables it to offer a truly comprehensive suite of corporate and commercial products and structured solutions to maximise efficiency and value for customers, brokers and cedants across MENA.

The company is differentiated from its competitors by being the leading facultative reinsurer in the DIFC in terms of market share, leveraging its global customer base and existing relationships.

Zurich, known for technical excellence on cross-border solutions, has demonstrated leadership in the region’s insurance industry through innovation in product offerings.

The reinsurer is the only commercial underwriter in the Middle East with direct decision making ability to write business in areas like cyber crime, environmental, food safety and product recall. The reinsurance proposition stands apart for its claims service and large and complex claims management. In the event of a loss, customers can quickly recover with the support of Zurich’s market-leading claims process and team of local decision-makers, with an average of 10 to 12 years of relevant experience each.

Zurich operates a proactive claims process, with all losses over US$250,000 being reported to the appropriate business head within 24 hours and a detailed report prepared within five days. Once the company agrees to pay a claim, payment occurs within 48 hours.

Zurich Middle East has been able to deliver new business growth while remaining highly selective about the risks it covers, prioritising quality over quantity. For instance, strict minimum fire safety standards are in place that all buildings must meet before they can be insured by Zurich.

As a part of its customer segmentation model, Zurich runs a “Top Market Customer – TMC” programme for selective large corporate clients. The programme’s priority is around customer retention, business development and cross selling. It is an important pillar in Zurich’s customer-centricity journey from single product approach to a customer focus approach.

The recent election of Mr Alaa El-Zoheiry as the Chairman of the Insurance Federation of Egypt (IFE) was the crowning moment for a quintessential professional and charismatic rising star in the Arab region’s insurance world.

Mr El-Zoheiry is credited with outstanding contribution in enhancing industry standards and catalysing regulatory change through his active participation in industry bodies, the latest being member of the General Insurance Executive Committee of the IFE.

The roll of honour reads thus: Member of the Egyptian Insurance Federation since 1991; Member of the Egyptian Lebanese Businessmen Association since 2002; Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt since 2005; Member of the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association since 2006; Representative of the Egyptian Insurance Market at the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) since 2008; Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Arab Orient Insurance Company (Jordan) since 2008; Chairman of the Insurance Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt since 2009; Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Takaful Life insurance Company since 2011; Chairman of GAIF 2014; and Vice Chairman of GAIF 2016.

Through his active participation in these industry organisations, Mr El-Zoheiry played a pivotal role in increasing the insurance sector’s contribution to the growth of the Egyptian economy. His holding of office at GAIF was marked by stronger cooperation and coordination among industry leaders in the Arab countries.

Mr El-Zoheiry applies his business acumen in running Arab Misr Insurance Group, a company of which he has been at its helm since 2005. His involvement with numerous insurance industry associations in Egypt and beyond bears testimony to his commitment and wholehearted engagement to steer the industry through thick and thin.

His managerial skills were instrumental in turning around the Arab Misr Insurance Group from a loss-making company to the top in Egypt’s general insurance sector in terms of technical profitability for years. He led the company to secure its first credit rating from A.M. Best at a very critical time in Egypt’s political and economic history following the Egyptian revolution. In the past five years, the company has been able to maintain its position as the only rated insurer in Egypt. Currently it is the only insurance company in Egypt that is rated by two international rating agencies – A.M. Best and Moody’s – which commended the management’s ability to navigate the insurer during hard times.

Since he joined the company in 2005, GWP jumped from EGP46 million (US$2.61 million) to EGP536 million in 2016. The paid-up capital saw a remarkable rise from EGP30 million in 2005 to EGP225 million in 2016, the highest in the private sector for P&C. The combined ratio showed substantial improvement from 140% in 2005 to 78% in 2016.

Mr El-Zoheiry was a recipient of the Egyptian insurance industry’s “Man of The Year” award for several years.