Despite the uncertainties of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict that continue in the face of the 12 August UN ceasefire resolution, we launch MiddleEast Insurance Review (MIR) with great expectations and with the commitment to serve the information needs of the insurance markets of the Middle East and North African (Mena) region and boost their profile globally.
In a report in June before the Israeli-Hezbollah war, the World Bank said that buoyed by higher oil prices, Mena’s average economic growth over the last three years, at 6.2% a year, was the highest in 30 years.
The insurance markets of the Mena region are set to take off, notwithstanding conflict, terrorism and political uncertainties. The figures on economic growth, and the sheer underinsurance in the region plus the appeal of takaful (Islamic insurance) speak for themselves. The Europeans and the Indians are already on to these exciting trends, though the Americans – other than a few exceptions like AIG – are still wary. The authorities in markets like Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, are also in the act of getting insurers to see the wider regional potential of Mena.
All kinds of figures are being touted for the growth potential of the market now that the petrol dollars are being repatriated to the region and massive infrastructural and development projects are underway across the entire Arabian peninsula. Insurers keeping pace with economic growth are paying more attention to personal lines including health, motor and life as traditional resistance to insurance wanes in the face of active promotion of takaful.
To set the scene, the cover story gives an analysis of the Mena insurance industry and the region as a whole as well as the hard choices and challenges faced by players. Readers will get a feel of the comparative advantages in each market and map their operational strategies in the region as ongoing industry reforms offer new business potential. And we go one step further to offer you a rating perspective of the region in this launch issue, confident that the players in the Mena region are gearing up, pushed by regulators to meet world-class standards soon.
On the takaful front, with a deep-seated assumption that in a Muslim region, takaful insurance will take off, we bring you a close-up of the Southeast Asian market and its potential. We also offer an article written by an industry insider as to why takaful products must be as competitive as traditional products to ensure sound development in the future. We are proud to bring you the insights distilled and reserved from a highly successful Asian Takaful Conference in Singapore in March just for this launch edition. And with Malaysia’s pro-active leadership role in takaful, and Bank Negara’s commitment that Malaysia will help set up a takaful insurance company in every OIC market, there will be plenty of new developments in the takaful sector that MiddleEast Insurance Review will consciously and conscientiously monitor and present to you.
As the Lebanese Insurance Commissioner puts it, despite the atrocities of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, life, and hence business, has to go on. Insurance underpins all economic activities not just in peaceful times, but also in periods of terrorism and war despite all the built-in exclusions. In the face of unabated terrorist attacks now being hatched in cells, we urge you to read the column on the need to have specific wordings to cover terrorist acts separate from the general war risk exclusions.
From the start, we make the commitment that through the launch of MiddleEast Insurance Review, we aim to add to the insurance industry’s march towards greater professionalism and higher standards. As advised by our friends and advisors in the market, we will keep the magazine technical, brimming with market news and development, as well as offering strategic advice and tips from experts in the field from underwriters, risk managers, actuaries, life office managers, brokers, management consultants, lawyers, loss adjusters, ratings agencies, technologists, and corporate users.
Lastly, I would like to thank the 35 leaders and active players in the market who so graciously sent us congratulatory messages, believing that MiddleEast Insurance Review can play a role in the growth and development of the Mena market.
We are here to stay.
So send me your feedback on this very first issue so that we can respond to your needs and grow along with you.
The best is yet to be!
Sivam Subramaniam
Editor-in-Chief
MiddleEast Insurance Review