A refined strategy for success
UAE: Promising with more potential ahead
Awards Special
Winners shine at 5th Middle East Insurance Industry Awards
Kuwait
Kuwait: Reforms long overdue
Standing solid: Kuwait Re
Smart tech for better motor results
CRM
Connecting with tech-minded customers
Reinsurance
Getting ready for the 1/1 renewal season
Opportunities and optimism
Middle East is a growing market for reinsurance
Personal Lines
Personal health insurance at a digital crossroads
Strategic Global View
Harnessing technology for new healthcare propositions in emerging markets
Legal Page
New insurance law opens up opportunities
Applying IFRS 17 to takaful: An alternative approach
Sharm Rendezvous tackles contemporary
Enhancing the customer journey remains a priority for insurers
Medical insurance leads growth in the UAE
MENA
Middle East: Insurers wary of covering oil & gas decommissioning activity
MENA: Turkey and Qatar to overtake Lebanon in life expectancy by 2040
MENA: Some travel destinations in the region are safer than Europe
GCC: Demand for jobs for nationals will be highest in Saudi Arabia & Oman in next 20 years
Algeria: Finance minister urges insurers to diversify products
Egypt: Board of insurance association backs mandatory motor insurance pool
Egypt: IFE joins the Global Federation of Insurance Associations
Egypt: Moroccan reinsurer opens office in Cairo
Egypt: Insurers form IT committee as cyber issues grow in importance
Iran: Central Insurance backs InsurTech startups
Iran: AIG subsidiary makes exit in face of sanctions
Jordan: Insurance association issues motor guide
Lebanon: Study on influenza cases among beneficiaries of insurers & 3rd-party payers
Lebanon: Lloyd's to help boost insurance market
Morocco: Bancassurance netted 25% of total premiums in 2017
Oman: National reinsurer posted net profit growth of almost 400% for 9M18
Saudi Arabia: Combined 9-month profits of insurers decline by a third
Saudi Arabia: Almost half unhappy with motor insurance pricing
Tunisia: Insurance market grew by 8% to $429m in 1H18
Tunisia: Authorities to broaden insurance distribution channels
Turkey: Govt to make building completion insurance mandatory for urban renewal works
Turkey: Eight insurers among top 100 tax-paying businesses
Turkey: Insurance regulatory chief looks to technology to transform supervisory functions
UAE: More than half of insured population are overweight
UAE: Insurance regulator issues rules for marketers
UAE: Health Authority directs insurers to suspend Iranian Hospital from medical coverage
UAE: DIFCIA tackles 4IR topic at industry event
UAE: Listed insurers saw 30% rise in combined profits in first 9 months
UAE: ADNIC's net profit for 9M18 nears $60m
UAE: Singapore-based FinTech firm opens office in DIFC
Global
IASB postpones IFRS 17 implementation to Jan 2022
Greater collaboration between regulators and policymakers to develop FinTech ecosystem
Stronger push to advance IAIS initiatives following annual conference
Global insurance M&A hits highest level with $44.4bn in 1H18 since financial crisis
Willis Towers Watson targets market growth through new operation
Takaful
Algeria: Call for takaful certification committee to be set up
Egypt: New bancatakaful deal for life takaful operator
Malaysia: Etiqa has strong potential for overseas growth
Malaysia: Govt to pilot free health insurance plan for low-income group
Malaysia: BNM's shariah arm rejects financial retakaful proposal
Oman: Pioneer takaful operator launches sultanate's first telematics app
Saudi Arabia: Kingdom's sole reinsurer posts 16% jump in 9-month net profit before zakat
UAE: Abu Dhabi National Takaful to distribute $1.2m cash returns to policyholders
Global: IFSB publishes FAQs for several standards
People on the move
COUNTRY PROFILE - Kuwait
FEATURE - Reinsurance
The MENA region remains an attractive prospect, with underlying insurance market growth and low penetration rates. The economic outlook for MENA countries is set to benefit from recent increases to hydrocarbon prices, say Mr Mahesh Mistry and Ms...
Buy Now
FEATURE - CRM
In today’s digital era, the rules of customer engagement are changing. Insurers need to adapt to the dynamic environment and rethink their approaches to connecting with consumers if they were to thrive in a market poised for further disruption.
How swiftly December has come. And altogether 2018 has been quite a challenging year for all with greater traction on the regulation and compliance fronts. And in the UAE with the VAT, there has been an overall cost increase too which some put at an...
As the risk landscape changes, Marsh forges a new strategy to meet its clients’ needs, efficiently utilising its resources and tapping into new markets, says Mr Christos Adamantiadis, CEO of Marsh Middle East and Africa (MEA).
The UAE insurance market has seen positive results on the back of regulatory reforms, but with the relatively low penetration rate, there remains more room for growth especially for life and personal lines with the support of new technology. Middle...
The much-anticipated awards night honoured new and repeat winners, proving once again that the region is a dynamic marketplace filled with players who are committed to raising the bar for the entire industry.
Kuwait’s insurance sector is crowded and highly fragmented, and the only way for the industry to forge ahead is with an overhaul of outdated regulations.
Despite the challenging market conditions facing reinsurers in the region, Kuwait Re has held its ground, thanks to its disciplined underwriting and prudent risk management practices, says its CEO Dawoud Al Duwaisan.
Kuwait’s insurance sector remains promising, and there are certain niches players can tap into, especially with the use of technology, says Mr Anas Al Otaibi, cofounder and partner at Partner Network Group (PNG), a smart solutions company.
Many in the insurance and reinsurance market look to Swiss Re for cues about what is coming next – in cyber, CAT bonds and much more. Middle East Insurance Review caught up with the group’s global CEO Christian Mumenthaler and Asia CEO...
Technology can address some of the biggest healthcare challenges in emerging markets such as prohibitive cost, poor quality of data and services, insufficient access and low awareness, says Dr Kai-Uwe Schanz of Dr. Schanz, Alms & Company.
The new UAE insurance law has made it easier for insurers to issue policies in a foreign language, thus expanding their business opportunities, but there are downsides when it comes to insurance disputes, says Mr Francois Chemaly of BSA Abu Dhabi.
With IFRS 17 looming, takaful operators will find it necessary to find an alternative approach to suit their business model instead of relying on the default building block approach, says Mr Zainal Kassim of Actuarial Partners.
‘Spreading Precious Ideas’ was the theme of the first Sharm El-Sheikh Rendezvous, held in Egypt in October to discuss the current status of the republic’s insurance sector and shed light on some of the industry’s pressing...
Insurers should utilise technology to enhance the customer experience and roll out products that satisfy consumer needs, said speakers at LIMRA’s EMEA Life Insurance Conference in Dubai in November.
The progress which the UAE has achieved in health insurance services is helping the sector retain its regional leadership and will support the country’s endeavours to become a reliable healthcare destination, said speakers at the 5th...
Insurers may be wary of insuring decommissioning liabilities in the Middle East region, in the face of uncertainties surrounding the activity, according to three players in the oil and gas field.
Lebanon, with an average life expectancy of 80.1 years in 2016 and ranked 31st among 195 nations and 1st among 20 MENA countries, may see Turkey and Qatar overtake it in average life expectancy in 2040, according to a new scientific study.
Parts of the MENA region are safer by a range of measures than some more popular holiday destinations, according to data sources collated by Which?, a major independent consumer body in the UK.