International reinsurance companies are expected to raise their premiums by 10% to 20% in the forthcoming period for some classes of insurance due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to a senior insurance industry executive.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has awarded Mr Hussain Al Ajmi, CEO of Foundation for Insurance and Finance Education, with the Allan Bridgewater Award for Excellence.
The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has stipulated that insurance companies operating in the Egyptian market will have to start disclosing in insurance policies the remuneration payable by them to intermediaries with effect from 1 October.
Premiums in Egypt’s insurance sector are expected to decline by 15-20% in the financial year ending 30 June 2021 (FY21) due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a senior industry official.
Online transactions and the use of mobile applications need a new legislative framework to keep pace with the rapid digital development, said insurance expert Mohamed El-Morsy.
The Kuwaiti Insurance Regulatory Unit has issued a bundle of decisions and measures regarding the regulation and control of insurance activity for Kuwaiti and foreign companies and insurance brokers.
Kuwait Re has reported a net profit of KWD3.09m ($10.1m) for the first six months of this year, an increase of 7% as compared to net gains of KWD2.87m in the corresponding period last year.
The Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (ACAL) has said that about 70% of the damages resulting from the 4 August devastating explosion in the Beirut port are not covered by insurance.
The Moroccan Federation of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (FMSAR) is involved in several projects to promote digital technology as a strategic lever for economic transformation and social inclusion.
The issuance of the licensing requirements for TPAs represents an important move to enhance regulation of the health insurance sector in Oman, said the Capital Market Authority (CMA) executive president Abdullah Bin Salem Al Salmi.
Saudi Re has signed an exclusive reinsurance contract with Malath Insurance, on behalf of the Saudi insurance industry, to provide reinsurance coverage on the inherent defects coinsurance programme.
Only 31% of the 3.27m residences in 817,339 buildings built in Istanbul before 2000 have earthquake insurance, said Mr Sinan Turkkan, president of Earthquake Retrofit Association (DEGUDER).
The Turkish insurance market generated total premiums of TRY40.22bn ($5.6bn) in the first half of this year, an increase of 21% compared to the corresponding period in 2019, according to data released by the Insurance Association of Turkey (TSB).
Over 130 registered entities in the DIFC have joined the Cyber Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) of DFSA since it was launched in January.
Ties between medical insurers and healthcare providers in the UAE are strained, raising the spectre of insurers suspending cover to medical centres in question, if no resolution is achieved shortly.
Orient Insurance has posted net profit of AED282.3m ($76.9m) for 1H2020, up from AED270.3m for the 1H2019, noted S&P Global Ratings.
Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) said its net profit for the six-month period ended 30 June 2020 climbed by 59.9% to AED189.7m ($51.7m) compared to a net profit of AED118.6m for the corresponding period in 2019.
Global
Global economic losses from Nat CAT and man-made disasters in the first half of 2020 stood at $75bn, according to Swiss Re Institute’s preliminary sigma estimates.
An operating performance assessment of Lloyd’s reflects the expectation that the business will produce strong technical performance over the underwriting cycle and that capital will continue to be attracted to the market, said AM Best.
The number of cyber insurance claims is growing faster than the number of cyber insurance policies across Europe and increasingly digitalised organisations remain vulnerable to malicious cyber attacks.
Insurance has fared particularly poorly in terms of news sentiment since the start of the pandemic. GlobalData has found that the insurance industry has seen more positive stories since May this year although the prior three months were extremely negative in coverage and will be damaging to the industry despite the recent recovery.
Takaful
UK-based National Zakat Foundation Worldwide (NZF Worldwide) is developing zakat standards for its member organisations in non-Muslim jurisdictions or in countries where Muslims are minorities.
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd and its subsidiary Syarikat Takaful Malaysia AM Bhd have signed two bancatakaful service agreements with RHB Islamic Bank. The two service agreements are: family bancatakaful and general takaful.
The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya) has reported a net profit before zakat and tax of SAR295.2m ($78.7m) for 1H2020, 153.5% higher compared to SAR116.4m in the same half of last year.
Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (Aman) has recorded net profit attributable to shareholders of AED8.17m ($2.22m) for the first half of 2020, up from AED7.49m for 1H2019.
MENA
Islamic Arab Insurance Company (SALAMA) has posted a 41% surge in net profit to AED47.05m for the first six months of the year compared to AED33.36m in 1H2019.
Takaful
National Takaful Company (Watania) has more than doubled its net profit to AED16.6m ($4.52m) for the first half of this year compared to AED7m for the corresponding period last year.